Emergency Preparedness
About this project
The increased demand for PAS during emergencies and disaster situations is an important dimension to the overall task of raising awareness of the needs of people with disabilities.
Emergencies and disasters increase the need for PAS in a variety of ways. During emergencies, PAS users may be cut off from their usual resources and need assistance from others who may or may not be trained to provide PAS. PAS users may also need different kinds of PAS in an emergency such as lifting and carrying. PAS users may have additional difficulties or conditions that result from the emergency situation, such as: lack of essential medications; inability to access durable medical equipment or consumable medical supplies, fatigue, hunger, respiratory distress, or trauma. PAS users may need assistance for tasks they could normally accomplish without assistance. Finally, people with disabilities who do not normally use PAS may need PAS during emergencies such as assistance in navigating unexpected obstacles in unfamiliar territory.
This research project will focus on strategies to coordinate and secure PAS services during national and regional emergencies and comprises of two streams of research:
- Gather and make available existing strategies on emergency PAS. Study conducted by Lewis Kraus and June Kailes.
- Identify specific strategies for emergency PAS and develop a model approach for emergency PAS. Study conducted by Lewis Kraus and June Kailes.
Federal agency publications
PAS Center publications
A list of reports and publications produced by the Emergency Preparedness PAS project and its staff. The citations provide links to abstracts, press releases, and either the entire publication, or information about where to obtain it.
All Emergency Preparedness reports and publications
Recent additions:
(2011, October). Mass Fatality Preparedness in the Death Care Sector. Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Volume, pp.1179–1186. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0b013e31822cfe76
(2010, January/February). Pandemic-related ability and willingness in home healthcare workers. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, Vol., pp.15-26. doi: 10.5055/ajdm.2010.0002
(2009). Disaster Planning For Technology-Dependent Patients Preparation must be ongoing. Retrieved March, from http://respiratory-care-s leep-medicine.advanceweb. com/Features/Article-1/Di saster-Planning-For-Techn ology-Dependent-Patients. aspx
Library
Important publications related to Emergency Preparedness. Abstracts and information on how to obtain the complete publication is provided with each citation.
All Emergency Preparedness publications
Recent additions:
Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. (2012, April). Gaps Continue To Exist In Nursing Home Emergency Preparedness And Response During Disasters. (OEI-06-09-00270). Washington, DC: .
FEMA. (2011, December). CERT Basic Training Participant Manual (Braille and Screen Reader Versions). Washington, DC: .
FEMA. (2011, December). A Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management: Principles, Themes, and Pathways for Action. Washington, DC: .
Presentations
Presentations related to Emergency Preparedness with links to abstracts, PowerPoint files and summaries.
All Emergency Preparedness presentations
Recent additions:
Kraus, L. & Kailes, J.I. (2012, Feb 08) Promising practices in evacuation for people with disabilities. Presented at the National Evacuation Conference hosted by LSU & UNO.
Links
The Center for PAS has assembled a list of links to organizations, resources and information available on the web related to Emergency Preparedness.
All Emergency Preparedness links
Recent additions:
The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (DEM) manages disaster preparation, mitigation, and response; 9-1-1 dispatch; and homeland security grant distribution for the City and County of San Francisco. DEM was created in 2006 by local legislation that reorganized the Emergency Communications Department and the Office of Emergency Services into a single agency.
People of every age need a plan of action in case of an emergency. Although you may be in good health, you probably aren't as agile as you used to be. Or you might have a disability that can present additional challenges. Age and disabilities do not have to be debilitating in emergencies. By planning ahead, you"ll feel more confident about protecting yourself during an emergency, whether it is a house fire, power outage, hurricane or attack on the community. Now is the time to get prepared.
If disaster strikes your community, you might not have access to food, water, or electricity for some time. By taking time now to prepare emergency water supplies, food supplies and disaster supplies kit, you can provide for your entire family.