Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association is implementing emergency preparedness efforts in advance of Hurricane Irma.
“Floridians are carefully watching the hurricane projections to ascertain the path of Hurricane Irma, and are busy getting prepared for a worse-case scenario. If you are a hospice patient or the caregiver of a hospice patient, please know that all Florida hospice programs have sophisticated emergency management plans to maximize the safety and care of their patients, and mitigate the impact of unavoidable service interruptions brought about by a natural disaster like a hurricane. Hospice programs have tested these emergency plans in table-top modeling, and by practical implementation in simulated scenarios,” FHPCA President and CEO Paul Ledford said.
“If you are a hospice patient or a caregiver in the path of the storm and are uncertain of the plan, please contact your hospice care team leader ASAP. If you are going to relocate a hospice patient, please communicate those intentions to the hospice program, so precious resources are not unnecessarily allocated to finding a temporarily relocated patient in the aftermath of the storm. Communication and information are vital to making the best of a potentially very difficult situation.”
Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association has published a Hurricane Preparedness Guide for use by hospice patients and caregivers. You can find that guide HERE.