Hurricane Season: How Memory Care Homes Keep Residents Safe
Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, and late summer is often the busiest time. For families of people living with dementia, storms raise extra worries. Changes in routine, power outages and evacuations can be especially confusing for someone with memory loss.
What Florida requires
Florida requires licensed assisted living facilities to keep a written emergency management plan, which is reviewed by county emergency management officials. After the deadly heat-related losses at a nursing home following Hurricane Irma in 2017, the state also adopted rules requiring assisted living facilities to have emergency power plans, including generators and fuel, to keep indoor temperatures at a safe level for at least 96 hours after a power outage.
What a good plan covers
- Backup power and fuel to keep residents cool
- Several days of food, water and medicines on hand
- Staff schedules so caregivers are available before, during and after the storm
- Agreements for where residents would go if an evacuation is needed, and how they would be transported
- Ways to keep medical records and medication lists with each resident
- How and when families will be contacted
Questions to ask your loved one’s home
- Do you have a generator, and what does it power?
- When would you evacuate, and where would residents go?
- How will you keep my loved one calm and on a routine?
- How will you contact me during and after the storm?
How families can help
- Make sure the home has your current phone numbers and an alternate contact.
- Keep an updated medication list and copies of key documents.
- Talk with staff before visiting or taking your loved one out during a storm. A familiar place and familiar caregivers are often the calmest option.
Have questions about memory care for someone you love? Call Generations Senior Living at (352) 474-2696 or schedule a tour of one of our three homes near The Villages.
