Disaster Preparedness for Family Caregivers Webinar

Webinar held on April 16, 2014. Co-sponsored by HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and HHS Administration for Community Living.

Overview

This webinar provides information for those who assist family caregivers in planning for emergencies and disasters. It includes guidance and examples for informing family caregivers on keeping themselves and their loved ones safe in a disaster or emergency by developing personal preparedness plans.  The video includes a brief introduction to preparedness planning for family caregivers and the role of HHS in supporting at-risk individuals and family caregivers.  Subject-matter experts (SMEs) provide presentations that described the role of caregiving across the lifespan including:

• Lessons Learned from Hurricane Sandy: Challenges of Sheltering in Place for Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities or Special Health Care Needs including Autism
• Supporting Older Americans who are Medically Fragile
• Lessons Learned from 9/11, Katrina, and Sandy for Persons with Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease
  

The webinar covers crosscutting issues for family caregiver preparedness including key considerations for family members in creating a preparedness plans, connecting to community resources, advocating for family members needs and interests, participating in community planning activities, creating opportunities for whole community engagement, building community resilience, and initiating relationships and partnerships in advance of an emergency or disaster.

Children

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Caring for Children in a Disaster (2013): Resource for parents, teachers, doctors, and nurses to inform readiness and coping of disasters with children.
• CDC Emergency Preparedness for Families that Include Children with Special Needs: Anecdotal resources for families and caregivers of children with special needs, including lessons learned in disaster planning.
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
• Disaster Preparedness Coloring Book: This coloring book is designed for adults and children to work together to learn about fire, earthquakes, floods, tornados and other disasters, as well as how to protect themselves all while having fun coloring. 
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Ready.gov (2013): Portion of DHS's interactive site that is for parents and teachers to help prepare kids for a disaster.
• The American Red Cross
• Masters of Disaster Preparedness Education (2013) : The American Red Cross Masters of Disaster curriculum is centered on a series of ready-to-go lesson plans that help both organizations and parents educate children about important disaster safety and preparedness information.
  
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
• Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Violence and Disaster (2012): Brochures that provide quick-tip guidance for parents, teachers, and caregivers of children during disasters.
• FEMA and American Red Cross
• Ready…Set…Prepare! A Disaster Preparedness Activity Book (2008) : An activity book designed for parents, teachers, and children to work through together to be prepared for emergencies. (Also available in specific books aimed towards ages 4-7 and 8-11)
• Helping Children Cope with Disaster (2004): This booklet offers parents, caregivers, and other adults suggestions on how to help children cope with the effects of disaster, as well as how to be prepared before a disaster strikes.

Disability

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR)
  
• Factsheet: Personal Preparedness for People with Disabilities: This guide is a starting point to personally prepare for a disaster, containing a fact sheet with suggested guidelines that may vary depending on one’s own personal health preparedness capabilities.
• FEMA and American Red Cross
• Preparing for Disaster for People with Disabilities and other Special Needs (2004): This booklet can be used to address challenges for people with physical, medical, sensory or cognitive disabilities during emergencies such as fires, floods and acts of terrorism.
  
• U.S. Department of Transportation
• Departmental Guidelines on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities: These guidelines provide answers to basic questions about emergency preparedness and the needs of people with disabilities in DOT. These guidelines also list references to websites offering more questions and answers and how-to program information.
• DHS FEMA
• Prepare for Emergencies Now: Information for People with Disabilities (2012): Brochure with information specific to Americans with disabilities and other access and functional needs regarding emergency preparedness.
• Prepare for Emergencies Now: Information for Pet Owners (2012): Brochure containing information for pet owners and suggestions for proactive pet emergency preparedness.
• FEMA and U.S. Fire Administration
• Fire Safety Checklist for People with Disabilities (2013)
• U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy
• Disability.gov (2013): Disability.gov is the federal government website for comprehensive information on disability programs and services in communities nationwide. The site links to more than 14,000 resources from federal, state and local government agencies; academic institutions; and nonprofit organizations. You can find answers to questions about everything from Social Security benefits to employment to affordable and accessible housing.
• National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio All Hazards
• NWR for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (2011): The material provided in this document is general information on how you can use NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) as an alerting tool for the deaf and hard of hearing. This is not an all-inclusive listing of how the system can be used, what products are available or an endorsement of any product listed here.

Older Adults

• HHS Administration on Aging
• Just in Case: Emergency Readiness for Older Adults and Caregivers: This fact sheet provides step-by-step information on how older adults should prepare for a disaster/emergency. It includes helpful checklists, contact lists, and a medication list that can be filled in.
• English: http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/AoA_Programs/HCLTC/Caregiver/docs/Just_in_Case030706_links.pdf
• Spanish: http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/AoA_Programs/HCLTC/Caregiver/docs/SpanishDisasterReadiness.pdf
• Disaster Preparedness: Home and Community-Based Services for People with Dementia and Their Caregivers: This toolkit outlines actions states can take to empower caregivers to make informed decisions about the special needs of people with dementia at a time of emergency or disaster.
• National Family Caregiver Support Program: This guide outlines emergency readiness for older adults and caregivers.
• Resources for Individuals, Families and Caregivers: This toolkit provides resources that will assist in developing priorities, best practices, and best actions in preparing for, and responding to, an emergency or disaster.
• The Lifespan Respite Care Program: This resource outlines the Lifespan Respite Care Program
• Family Caregivers and Transportation, A Few Survival Tips: This resource outlines steps to providing transportation for an individual as a caregiver.
• Family Caregivers and Driving Retirement, Tips for Planning: This resource outlines signs to recognize when and individual should stop driving autonomously.
• HHS National Institutes of Health
  • Home Safety for People with Alzheimer’s Disease: This booklet is for those who provide in-home care for people with Alzheimer's disease or related disorders.
  • Caregiver Guide: Tips for Caregivers of People with Alzheimer's Disease: This guide can be used as a resource for caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease or related disorders.
• HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
• Psychosocial Issues for Older Adults (1999): Gives mental health professionals, emergency response workers, and caregivers tools to provide disaster mental health and recovery support to older adults.
  
• DHS FEMA
• Prepare for Emergencies Now: Information for Older Americans (2012): Brochure with information specific to older Americans and tips on how to prepare for emergency situations.
• Preparing Makes Sense for Older Americans (2011): This guide outlines commonsense measures older Americans can take to start preparing for emergencies before they happen.
• American Red Cross
• Disaster Preparedness: For Seniors By Seniors (2009) : his booklet can be used as a resource for caregivers and individuals to prepare in the face of disaster for themselves and their communities.
• The Importance of a Personal Support Network : This guide informs both caregivers and individuals on the importance of creating a personal support network for senior citizens.
• Alzheimer’s Association
• Take Care of Yourself : 10 ways to be a healthier caregiver: This guide is intended to provide resources for caregivers to manage their own stress.
• Disaster Preparedness, Home and Community-Based Services For People with Dementia and their Caregivers : A toolkit for the aging network in the face of disasters.

Homeless

• HHS ASPR
• Disaster Response for Homeless Individuals and Families: A Trauma-Informed Approach
• National Health Care for the Homeless Council
• Surviving Severe Weather: Tools to Promote Emergency Preparedness for People Experiencing Homelessness (2013) : The National Health Care for the Homeless Council has developed a series of weather-specific informational flyers specifically for people who lack housing.

Culture & Linguistic Diversity

• HHS
• Refugee Health Information Network (2007): A database of quality multilingual, public health resources for those providing care to resettled refugees and asylees.  Resources include health education materials in various languages and formats (brochures, fact sheets, videos), provider tools (including information on refugee populations and cultures), and links to related Web sites.
• DHS FEMA
• Emergency Resources for Other Languages (2011): This webpage contains flyers, brochures, tri-folds, press releases and public service announcements tailored to provide disaster preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation information. The purpose of these webpages is to help people with limited English proficiency levels to receive important life-sustaining and life-saving information when disasters strike.
• National Language Service Corps
• Translation services (2013) : The NLSC is a readily available group of language volunteers who provide supplemental language resources to U.S. federal agencies.
• Healthy Roads Media
• Translated Material: Emergencies (2012) : This site contains health education materials in a number of languages and a variety of formats. They are being developed to provide health information for diverse populations in a variety of settings.

Tribal

• HHS SAMHSA
• Culture card: A guide to build cultural awareness, American Indian and Alaska Native (2009): The purpose of this guide is to provide basic information for Federal disaster responders and other service providers who may be deployed or otherwise assigned to provide or coordinate services in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Tribal Resource Guide (2013): DHS’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs developed this guide to highlight some of the DHS resources available to Tribal Nations to keep our nations safe and secure.
• Heritage Preservation
• "Getting Ready in Indian Country: Emergency Preparedness and Response for Native American Cultural Resources (2010) : These resources are to encourage emergency preparedness (specifically for Native American interests.)

Women and Gender

• HHS ASPR
• Delivering Gender-Informed Health Services in Emergencies
• HHS Office on Women's Health
• Emergency Preparedness (2011): Guidelines to get a kit together, make a plan, be informed
• CDC
• Wildfires: Information for Pregnant Women and Parents of Young Infants (2013)
• Information for Pregnant Women - Fact Sheet (2012)

Chronic Medical Disorders

• HHS ASPR
• Planning Considerations for the Extremely Obese (2012)
• HHS
• Guidance for Non-HIV-Specialized Providers Caring for HIV-Infected Residents Displaced from Disaster Areas (2011): The following information provides guidance to health care providers attending to the medical needs of HIV-infected adults (including pregnant women) or children displaced from disaster areas who have not yet secured HIV care in the areas where they have relocated.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• Information Regarding Insulin Storage and Switching Between Products in an Emergency (2013)
• FDA Offers Tips about Medical Devices and Hurricane Disasters (2013)
• Safe Drug Use After a Natural Disaster (2013): The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) at FDA offers the following information on the use of drugs that have been potentially affected by fire, flooding or unsafe water, and the use of temperature-sensitive drug products when refrigeration is temporarily unavailable.
• Medical Devices Requiring Refrigeration (2012): FDA advice about medical devices that have been exposed to unusually high storage temperatures.
• Medical Devices that Have Been Exposed to Heat and Humidity: FDA advice about medical devices that have been exposed to unusual levels of heat and humidity.
• Reopening Dialysis Clinics after Restoration of Power and Water (2010): This document gives recommendations to follow before reopening dialysis clinics after a period of time without power or water.
• Disposal of Contaminated Devices (2009): The FDA provides the following tips on checking medical devices for contamination and disposing of contaminated products.