New report urges using ‘blue sky’ days to get ahead on nursing home emergency prep

Florida is the state most often hit by hurricanes, and with roughly 700 nursing homes, year-round emergency planning and preparedness training are imperatives. Building on a dramatic weather year in 2024 — three major storms made landfall, including two in the same area, back-to-back — the Florida Health Care Association this month published a new resource for its members and long-term care providers much further afield. The Emergency Preparedness in Long Term Care report acknowledges that three major hurricanes and resulting evacuations put providers’ emergency planning responsibilities “to the test.” But time-sensitive decisions using predetermined procedures and solid communication plans developed months before those emergencies were critical, said co-author Kristen Knapp, FHCA’s senior director of strategy and communications. “All emergencies are local, so those relationships with your local emergency managers, your local utility providers, those are so critical during blue sky experiences, when there's not a storm threatening,” she tells McKnight’s in this podcast episode, recorded at the American Health Care Association’s annual convention in Las Vegas. Storms aren’t the only thing the report examines and offers tips on. It addresses proactive preparation, training implementation and important considerations such as transfer trauma that providers in any state can use to enhance their own emergency planning efforts — for a range of natural and manmade events. “One of the things that happened this past year is a significant power outage. … You need to be prepared for that. You know, we have tornadoes, we have wildfires in Florida. There's cybersecurity threats,” she says. “Making sure that you are training your staff, that your comprehensive emergency preparedness plan that your facility has is inclusive of other emergencies besides a hurricane is really critical.” Listen in for more tips on preparing, a day-by-day strategy to get ready for a predicted weather threat, and more insights on helping residents and staff weather any kind of storm, both physically and emotionally. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.