Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards, may force you to evacuate your home or shelter-in-place at short notice. It is important to know what to do in case of an emergency well before disaster strikes.

If you are an older adult living in the community, you may face some challenges during an emergency. For example, you may have mobility problems, or chronic health conditions, or you may not have any family or friends nearby to support you. Support services that are usually available, such as help from caregivers or in-home health care and meal delivery services, may be unavailable for a period of time. In addition, older adults may experience challenges that come with advanced age, such as hearing or vision problems or cognitive impairment, which may make it difficult to access, understand, and respond to emergency instructions.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

 

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You or the person you care for can be prepared for emergency situations by creating a plan, reviewing or practicing it regularly, and keeping an emergency supply kit.

 

Emergency planning is important for older adults.

The first step in preparing for an emergency is creating a plan. Work with your friends, family, and neighbors to develop a plan that will fit your needs.

  • Choose a contact person who will check on you during a disaster, and decide how you will communicate with each other (for instance, by telephone, knocking on doors). Consider speaking with your neighbors about developing a check-in system together.
  • Create a list of contact information for family members and friends. Leave a copy by your phone(s) and include one in your Emergency Supply Kit.
  • Plan how you will leave and where you will go during an evacuation. If you are living in a retirement or assisted living community, learn what procedures are in place in case of emergencies. Keep a copy of exit routes and meeting places in an easy-to-reach place.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper
  • Create a care plan and keep a copy in your Emergency Supply Kit. Try out CDC’s easy-to-use care plan templateCdc-pdf.
  • If you have medical, transportation, or other access needs during an emergency, consider signing up for SMART911, Code Red, or your local county registry, depending upon which service your area uses to helps first responders identify people who may need assistance right away.

After an emergency, you may not have access to clean water or electricity. Make sure you are prepared with your own supply of food, water, and other items to last for at least 72 hours.

  • Visit Ready.govExternal for a list of basic items to gather for your Disaster Supply Kit.
  • Medical-Related Items:
    • A 3-day supply of medicine, at a minimum. If medications need to be kept cold, have a cooler and ice packs available.
    • ID band (full name, contact number for family member/caregiver, and allergies)
    • Hearing aids and extra batteries
    • Glasses and/or contacts and contact solution
    • Medical supplies like syringes or extra batteries
    • Information about medical devices such as wheelchairs, walkers, and oxygen including model numbers and vender.
  • Documents (Keep physical copies in a waterproof bag and take photos of each document for backup):
    • Your Care PlanCdc-pdf
    • Contact information for family members, doctors, pharmacies and/or caregivers
    • List of all medications, including the exact name of the medicine and the dosage, and contact information for pharmacy and doctor who prescribed medicine
    • List of allergies to food or medicines
    • Copies of medical insurance cards
    • Copies of a photo ID
    • Durable power of attorney and/or medical power of attorney documents, as appropriate.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper
The elderly in America have many needs that can range from transportation, a little more money, and even just a little companionship but one of their major needs is advocacy. They need someone to stand up and fight with them for what the need. The elderly of today did so much for this country such things as fight both world wars and the Korean Conflict, they fought for equality, and the escalated this country to the greatness we have today. So what is an advocate? Advocate is a person or group that represents a common interest and goes to great lengths to see that their cause is not neglected. So why does our elderly need advocates? Our elderly need advocates for various reasons. 
Another service offered is protection against abuse and neglect. Many people such as family, friends, neighbors, and strangers who are scam artist, robbers, and murders can abuse the elderly. They also can be neglect by the same people but there is one more person on this list that is themselves. An older person can often neglect themselves because they don’t have the money to pay for extra bills and proper healthcare or they may even feel that those things are just a part of aging. The Office for the Aging receive many calls from concerned family members and friends of elderly that they feel that that person is being neglected or abused. The office then will investigate and review the situation and decide the proper course of action.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper
They also provide financial counseling on things like taxes, bills, balancing a checkbook, and budgeting. Financial counselors will sit down with an older person either in their office or at the home of the elderly person discuss the best option and how to go about following through with the plan. The Office for the aging also can assist in finding proper care centers when an older person either cannot or decide they do not want is in the community anymore.
Depression is one of the most recurrently investigated psychological disorders within the area of medical R&D (Montorio & Izal, 1996). A number of exhaustive researches have been carried out to study its symptoms and impacts on different patients belonging to different personal and professional attributes and most of these researchers depicted that depression in the elderly people is very frequent and in spite of number of researches in this context, it is often undiagnosed or untreated. To add to this jeopardy, it has also been estimated that only 10% out of the total depressed elderly individuals receive proper diagnosis and treatment (Holroyd et al, 2000).• Population: Adults, age 65 and older.

• Score: The inventory provides a Total Score and five Primary Dimensions: Negative Mood, Interpersonal Problems, Ineffectiveness, Anhedonia, and Negative Self Esteem.

• Time: 35 minutes Description: The DIE has been designed to measure depressive symptoms for elderly individuals. The self-administered inventory consists of 90 items related to such depressive symptoms as depressed mood, withdrawal, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, difficultly making decisions, vegetative functions, self–evaluation and interpersonal behaviors.

• Norms: The normative sample included 1266 retired individuals residing in Florida age 65 to 91. There were 350 men between the ages of 65 and 85, and 750 women ages 65 to 91. The population was mostly middle to upper class retirees.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

• Scoring: The inventory uses a 5-point scale of distress (0–4), ranging from “not at all” (0) to “extremely” (4). The DIE yields raw scores and T scores for the Total Score and Primary Dimension scores. Results are hand scored. T scores above 65 on the Total Score and the Primary Dimensions are considered in the “clinical range.”

• Reliability: Internal consistency reliability has been found to be range from .71 to .89 with an assortment of

The Practicality of the Elderly in Contemporary Society After reading Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”, I was mesmerized by a certain paragraph on page five. In said paragraph, Thoreau states how worthless the elderly actually are. He writes about them having no advice worth listening to and how any valuable experience he has gained throughout his life was not taught to him by his seniors. More specifically, he says “I have lived some thirty years on this planet, and I have yet to hear the first syllable of valuable or even earnest advice from my seniors.” This stance is magnanimously contradictory, as most of the world would be opposed to such ridicule. Ponder on the topic and ask if there truly is any usefulness of old people. I feel that there is some truth behind the Thoreau’s diction. The elderly can grant no largess of economical gifts, however they do provide a strong basis for moral and ethical enlightenment. This essay will be divided into two main sections. The first section has four subdivisions while the second section has three. In section one, I will dive into the economic burdens old people place on the world. The first subdivision in this section will prove that old folks are economic burdens, followed by subdivision two where I tell of the simple change needed to fix that problem.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper
As one ages, the body accumulates a myriad of multidimensional changes in the realms of physical, biological, psychological, and social alterations. These changes can manifest from a deficiency in one area or an abundance in another. According to the student nurse, these changes can be functional, potentially dysfunctional, or dysfunctional based on Gordon’s Functional Health Patterns. The student nurse conducts a similar interview and assessment process with each patient to gather subjective and objective data related to the health and wellness of the individual. The function of the student nurse’s interview process using Gordon’s Functional Health Patterns reflects the purpose of the interviewing an elderly individual 
This health pattern is dysfunctional with a nursing diagnosis of risk for falls related to difficulty with gait. This is the second priority mainly because of her history with two falls within the last year. The objective data supports this as the second priority due to an unsteady, hunched gait when ambulating and a scar on her head. When E.K. walks her face is looking down and her upper torso is hunched forward. The subjective data which supports this nursing diagnosis includes her admitting that she had two falls which resulted in minor injury within the past year. The scar on her head is from the most recent fall which resulted in several staples. Even though there are no stairs in her home, she accredited that both falls were due to losing her balance and not being able to prevent herself from falling to the ground. The accumulation of the objective and subjective data support this health pattern as dysfunctional and the second priority nursing diagnosis. The third priority nursing diagnosis is under the elimination health pattern.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper
the Finnish parliament's future commission has listed challenges in elderly peoples lives that could be overcome using new technology. The two most important inhibiting factors affecting the quality of life of elderly people were identified as solitude and immobility (O Kuusi, 2001). The purpose of this research is to identify everyday motivational needs concerning communication and mobility of elderly people and present a …show more content…
• Technological solutions should contribute in travelling outside home and daily activities at home and near home.
The commission has stated that solitude and immobility are the most important shortcomings that technology should attempt to alleviate (O Kuusi, 2001).
Here are examples to show that researchers have started to see the importance of social and mobility needs. The importance of elderly people's social, emotional and environmental factor needs have been found in recent researches (J abascal, 2001; KZ
Haigh, J Phelps and CW Geib, 2002; T Hirsch et al., 2000 and JA Jore, 2001). They argued that designing eldercare technologies to address all these factors lowers social barriers. Nokia Mobile Phones and Work Science Laboratory in Oulu, Finland found out that the most beneficial services for elderly in the future are those by which they can maintain their social relationships, health and ability to live at home.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper
Pain and Anxiety Associated with Falls in the Elderly The risk of falling dramatically increases as one ages. According to Menant et al, a fall is defined as an “unexpected event in which the person comes to the ground, floor, or lower level”. In this study conducted by Menant et al, the authors desired to distinguish certain factors that may contribute to falls associated with the elderly. Dizziness is a complaint that tends to increase as a person ages, which can also be said about the incidence of falling. According to Menant et al, dizziness symptoms can affect the activities of daily living in many elderly people. Many studies have found that dizziness can be a result from both medical and psychological factors. This study was conducted on 526 elderly individuals who were randomly selected to a dizzy and non-dizzy group from a previous cohort study in eastern Sydney, Australia. Each participant had to meet certain criteria and sign informed consent prior to partaking in this study. Participants were assessed through questionnaires & assessments. The questionnaires and assessments focused on aspects of dizziness, exercise levels, overall health, falls follow-up procedures, balance assessment, and cardiovascular, psychological, and neuromuscular function.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

This study uses interview data collected from public health departments and aging-in-place efforts—specifically, from coordinators of age-friendly communities and village executive directors—to explore how current aging-in-place efforts can be harnessed to strengthen the disaster resilience of older adults and which existing programs or new collaborations among public health departments and these organizations show promise for improving disaster resilience for older populations.

Interviews with stakeholders revealed that most age-friendly communities and senior villages did not place a high priority on promoting disaster preparedness. While most public health departments conducted or took the lead on disaster preparedness and resilience activities, they were not necessarily tailored to older adults. Aligning and extending public health departments' current preparedness activities to include aging-in-place efforts and greater tailoring of existing preparedness activities to the needs of older adults could significantly improve their disaster preparedness and resilience. For jurisdictions that do not have an existing aging-in-place effort, public health departments can help initiate those efforts and work to incorporate preparedness activities at the outset of newly developing aging-in-place efforts.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

  • The increasing frequency and intensity of weather-related and other disaster events combined with the growing proportions of older adults present a new environment in which public health programs and policies must actively promote the resilience of older adults.

  • Preparedness programs conducted by public health departments are designed to reduce mortality and morbidity and, consequently, will become even more critical, given the increasing proportion of older adults in the United States, largely due to aging baby boomers.

  • Interviews with stakeholders revealed that most age-friendly communities (AFCs) and senior villages did not place a high priority on promoting disaster preparedness. While most public health departments we interviewed did engage in disaster preparedness and resilience activities, they were not necessarily tailored to older adults.

  • AFCs and senior village interviewees cited older adults' challenges with communication and low prioritization of the need to plan for disasters. These organizations also acknowledged their limited awareness of disaster preparedness and lack of demand from their constituents to provide services to help their communities be better prepared.

  • Current aging-in-place efforts can be harnessed to strengthen the disaster resilience of older adults. Existing programs and new collaborations between public health departments and these organizations show promise for improving disaster resilience for older populations.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

  • The work of public health departments and aging-in-place efforts is complementary. Improving the everyday engagement of older adults with family, friends, neighbors, and trusted institutions supports other organizations' and agencies' preparedness work by strengthening informal ties and building information networks. Likewise, the work of helping older adults become more resilient to disasters provides an opportunity for older adults to engage with others and learn skills needed to remain safely living at home as they age.

  • Aligning and extending public health departments' current preparedness activities to include aging-in-place efforts and greater tailoring of existing preparedness activities to the needs of older adults could significantly improve their disaster preparedness and resilience.

  • For jurisdictions that do not have an existing aging-in-place effort, public health departments can help initiate those efforts and work to incorporate preparedness activities at the outset of newly developing aging-in-place efforts.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Older adults, defined for this study as adults age 65 or older, are especially vulnerable during and after disasters (Bei et al., 2013; Malik et al., 2017; Weisler, Barbee, and Townsend, 2006). For example, half of the deaths from Hurricane Katrina were adults age 75 and older (Brunkard, Namulanda, and Ratard, 2008), and 63 percent of the deaths after the 1995 heat wave in Chicago were adults age 65 or older (Whitman et al., 1997). Older adults are more likely than others in a community to be socially isolated and have multiple chronic conditions, limitations in daily activities, declining vision and hearing, and physical and cognitive disabilities that hamper their ability to communicate about, prepare for, and respond to a natural disaster (Levac, Toal-Sullivan, and O'Sullivan, 2012; Aldrich and Benson, 2008). A sizable number of adults age 65 or older (about one-third of Medicare enrollees, or approximately 16 million nationally) live alone (Komisar, Feder, and Kasper, 2005). Disasters can also disrupt essential services that allow older adults to live in the community, such as assistance from family caregivers and social services like home-delivered meals, chore services, and personal care (Benson and Aldrich, 2007). A 2012 survey found that 15 percent of U.S. adults age 50 or older would not be able to evacuate their homes without help, and half of this group would need help from someone outside the household (National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, National Council on Aging, and UnitedHealthcare, 2012). A 2014 survey of adults age 50 or older found that 15 percent of the sample used medical devices requiring externally supplied electricity (Al-Rousan, Rubenstein, and Wallace, 2014). Thus, power interruptions could pose adverse health effects for this group.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Older adults can also contribute important assets to disaster response. A 2017 qualitative study of 17 focus groups with at-risk individuals found that adults age 65 or older contribute their experience, resources, and relationship-building capacity to prepare themselves and to support others during an emergency (Howard, Blakemore, and Bevis, 2017). Specifically, older adults both generate and mobilize social capital at the local level during a disaster.

 

 

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Yet there are critical gaps in disaster preparedness for this group. Although preparedness guidelines and resources exist for older adults, the 2014 survey mentioned earlier found that two-thirds of adults age 50 or older had no emergency plan, had never participated in any disaster preparedness educational program, and were not aware of the availability of relevant resources (Al-Rousan, Rubenstein, and Wallace, 2014). More than a third of respondents lacked a basic supply of food, water, or medical supplies in case of emergency (Al-Rousan, Rubenstein, and Wallace, 2014). Adults age 65 and older will make up nearly 25 percent of the U.S. population by 2060 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). As the U.S. population ages and weather events become more severe, the need to address the vulnerability and leverage the strengths of older Americans in disasters will grow.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Public health and prevention planning and programs are needed to identify older adults at elevated risk in the event of disasters, address their needs, and leverage their strengths (Al-Rousan, Rubenstein, and Wallace, 2014). Public health departments are the government entity primarily responsible for disaster-related public health and safety. However, public health departments are often focused on the entire community, and even their tailored programs may be limited to individuals with functional limitations and may not necessarily meet the needs of all older adults. One set of resources for improving the disaster resilience of older adults may already exist in communities: current efforts to promote aging in place. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009) define aging in place as “the ability to live in one's own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level.” A 2015 survey found that 75 percent of respondents age 60 or older intended to continue living in their current home for the remainder of their lives, in large part driven by their desire to be near family and friends (National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, National Council on Aging, and UnitedHealthcare, 2015).

There are two primary types of nationwide organizations that promote aging in place in the United States (Greenfield, 2012):

Age-friendly communities (AFCs) are typically collaborations or partnerships between organizations (which may include local government agencies and community groups) that promote the social connectedness of older adults across a municipal or regional area (e.g., cities and counties) and facilitate their inclusion in community life. The World Health Organization oversees the Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities. AARP oversees a network of U.S. Age-Friendly Cities.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Villages are membership-driven grassroots nonprofit organizations that seek to help older adults age in place successfully through a number of programs and services, such as health education, social gatherings, access to a list of service vendors who have been vetted, transportation, and bookkeeping. Villages generally cover a neighborhood or a city but in some cases can cover multiple adjacent counties in more rural areas. Villages differ based on their size, governance structure, membership characteristics, and regional coverage. The Village to Village Network is a national nonprofit organization that provides expert guidance, resources, and support to help communities establish and maintain villages.

Like resilience, successful aging in place emphasizes connectedness. For older adults in particular, this means engagement with community life and needed services.

The following list summarizes the rationale for focusing on older adults' preparedness and our hypothesis that aging-in-place efforts may serve as resources to public health departments to bolster the disaster resilience of older adults (Keim, 2008):Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

The U.S. population is aging rapidly, in part because of the aging baby boomer cohorts.

Intense storms and other emergencies have become more frequent and severe over time, and older adults tend to live in areas more prone to disasters.

The majority of older adults in the United States are unprepared for an emergency, and many are socially isolated or are not able to receive or respond to messages typically employed by public health departments.

Older adults are vulnerable and have specific needs in the face of an emergency that are not fully covered by most public health departments' preparedness activities.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Emergency preparedness programs are designed to reduce mortality and morbidity, which will become even more critical, given the aging U.S. population.The Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA) maintains this Resource Directory as an informational service to help elders, their families, caregivers, and others interested in elder issues learn about available resources and organizations in their respective areas. The appearance of an individual or organization on this site is not intended as an endorsement of that individual or organization or any products or services identified on their external websites. DOEA disclaims any and all warranties, including accuracy, completeness, or validity of the data, and assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the information contained on this Resource Directory. DOEA does not warrant either expressly or by implication any individual, organization, product, or service appearing on this site or that is electronically linked to this site. This Resource Directory is not intended to be used as a tool for verifying the credentials, qualifications, or abilities of any professional, organization, product, or service. DOEA strongly urges all users of this Resource Directory to conduct their own research of any individual, organization, product, or service appearing on this site or that is electronically linked to this site. DOEA also recommends that users exercise independent judgment and request references when considering a resource associated with diagnosis, treatment, or the provision of any service.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

The outcome of these disasters is dependent on the healthcare system’s ability to respond and treat the injured or ill. The increased risk of a disaster occurring requires that communities nationwide have a well-prepared public health and healthcare disaster system. To mitigate the consequences of disasters, all communities need to have processes in place to treat the ill/injured and protect the healthy (Toner, 2017).

A medical emergency kit can mean the difference between life and death. When emergency responders arrive on the scene, they must have fast access to the information that can help them provide swift and correct care to the senior in need.All seniors should prepare a medical emergency kit and keep it in plain sight in their main living area or kitchen for first responders to notice. Here is a list of items that belong in a senior’s medical emergency kit to ensure their medical care is precise and efficient.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

1. A List of Medications

Print out a detailed list of all current medications along with the correct dosages. This information can help medical responders better understand and track the patient’s health. They can make quick judgments as to possible causes of the emergency and narrow down the ideal treatment option swiftly.

2. Copies of Medical History

Keep a current copy of your entire medical history as well. This may include updates on doctor visits, primary doctor contact information and insurance coverage details. It is also helpful for patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia to keep records of their most recent behavioral patterns to help medical professionals understand the full extent of the individual’s health history, even if they cannot personally recall the details.

3. Family Member Contact Information

Always keep detailed records of your main emergency contact’s home, cell and office phone numbers as well as their home and work address. In a serious medical emergency, the treatment team will want to notify loved ones as soon as possible for guidance on making decisions regarding the individual’s health. Seniors should also keep this contact information in their purse or wallet in case an emergency occurs outside the home.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

4. Replacement Supplies

Even if you are not experiencing a medical crisis, a medical emergency kit can still help provide backup support. If possible, obtain a backup medical prescription in case your current prescription runs out and you are not able to reach the pharmacy in time. Keep batteries in the kit to replace rundown sets in hearing aids and other medical equipment. You could also keep a spare set of prescription glasses in the medical emergency kit in case your current pair is suddenly lost or broken.

Contact My Senior Health Plan for assistance in ensuring your current insurance coverage meets your present needs and any other challenges that may arise in the event of a medical emergency.

There are various preparedness programs already in place; however, funding for many of these programs has been drastically decreased over the years (Toner, 2017). In 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) preparedness rule was finalized and established emergency preparedness requirements for facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid and coordinates efforts with the federal, state, and local emergency preparedness systems (Toner, 2017).Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

In 2014 the Association of Public Health Nurses updated their position paper “The Role of the Public Health Nurse in Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery. This paper supplies guidance for the public health nurse’s role throughout the disaster cycle (Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN), 2014).

Nurses may be allowed by federal and/or state law or declarations to cross state boards to assist in disaster relief; however, it is important that the nurse knows and understands these laws prior to joining the disaster effort. Be sure to clarify the expectations for licensure with the organization you are volunteering with. Currently, there are no comprehensive, national legal protections for healthcare workers participating in the disaster cycle (Courtney, Priest, & Roost, 2012).

Public health nursing is “the practice of promoting and protecting the health of populations using knowledge from nursing, social, and public health sciences” (American Public Health Association, Public Health Nursing Section, 2013, p.1). Currently there are an estimated 34,521 public health nurses (PHN) working across the U.S. This number represents a significant, nationwide shortage of PHN.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Public health nurses bring critical expertise to each phase of the disaster cycle: preparedness (prevention, protection, and mitigation), response and recovery. “They have a unique skill set and an ability to link systems that are vital to the disaster continuum to include, but not limited to disease surveillance, disease and health investigation, case finding, rapid needs assessment, public health triage, mass prophylaxis and treatment, collaboration, health teaching and provider education, community organizing, outreach and referral, population advocacy and policy development” (APHN, 2014, p. 6).

To understand the role of the public health nurse and the nursing process during a disaster, review the APHN Position Statement at http://nacchopreparedness.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/APHN_Role-of-PHN-in-Disaster-PRR_FINALJan14.pdf. Specifically table 1 on page 7.

Disaster preparedness, response, and recovery are critical components of public safety. Public health nurses who understand the population-based nature of a disaster response and possess the knowledge and skills to respond in a timely and appropriate manner to any type of disaster are a vital component to this process (APHN, 2014).

Aging-in-place efforts may be a national resource to support disaster resilience of older adults.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Disasters can be particularly disruptive to the daily living of older adults and their caregivers.  Chronic conditions that exist prior to an emergency can be exacerbated, equipment damaged or lost, and services or treatments interrupted, causing additional harm or stress.  This webpage will introduce and connect you to key resources on disaster preparedness for older adults developed by the Administration for Community Living, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other partners.

Administration for Community Living – Administration on Aging: Emergency Preparedness and Response
This website is intended to provide planning and response information, checklists, and strategies that can assist individuals, families, caregivers, the Aging Services Network, and other professionals to better prepare for and respond to all types of emergencies and disasters.  The National Family Caregiver Support Program developed Just In Case: Emergency Readiness for Older Adults and Caregivers, a fact sheet that provides step-by-step information on how older adults can prepare for a disaster.  It includes a helpful, three-step checklist, emergency contacts list, and current medications list that can be completed.  (Also available in Spanish.) Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Emergency Preparedness for Older Adults 
This portal provides links to information, tools, and resources to assist with multi-sector planning for older adults in all-hazard emergencies.  Examples include: a page on older adult health and medical considerations (general health, mental health, and chronic conditions) in disasters; training resources (e.g., workforce readiness, templates for senior-living and long-term care); and Identifying Vulnerable Older Adults and Legal Options for Increasing Their Protection During All-Hazards Emergencies: A Cross-Sector Guide for States and Communities.  In addition, CDC’s page on Extreme Heat offers information on heat stress in people aged 65 years and older and outlines signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion, steps you can take to prevent heat-related stress, and how you can help protect your older relatives and neighbors.

National Institutes of Health – National Institute on Aging – Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center  
Home Safety for People with Alzheimer’s Disease: Natural Disaster Safety.  If there is a person with Alzheimer’s in your home, the precautions outlined on this page may be helpful to consider.  This page also offers a specific tip sheet. Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Psychosocial Issues for Older Adults in Disasters
This publication gives mental health professionals, emergency response workers, and caregivers the tools to provide disaster mental health and recovery support to older adults.  SAMHSA’s Disaster Technical Assistance Center (DTAC) has also compiled an Older Adults Resource Collection, categorized by phases of disaster and by audience.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Prepare for Emergencies Now: Information for Older Americans 
This guide outlines common-sense measures older adults can take to start preparing for emergencies before they happen.  Steps include getting a kit of basic supplies, making a plan for what you will do in an emergency, and staying informed and connected.  (Additional formats available here.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

American Red Cross: Disaster Preparedness for Seniors by Seniors 
Published in 2009 by a group of older adults who experienced a two-week power outage when a massive ice storm hit the Greater Rochester, New York region, the steps presented in this booklet can help you prepare for emergencies and eliminate hardships you might face. Elderly abuse is no longer the “quite as kept” family secret. Due to the economic pressures of families reuniting to make ends-meat and the medical treatment with improved diets, which adds to the length of life contributes to family stressors. These stresses may present themselves in the form of sexual, physical, psychological, emotional and fiscal abuse. This paper will give exposure to many known causes and treatment, analyze current and past data outlining the potential rise in abuse of the elderly population and present possible solutions that potentially reduce identified trends and assist in the reduction of elderly mistreatment.
Analysis of the problem There are many approaches to take when discussing about elderly abuse and neglect. History says that the elderly was once a highly respected member of the community, but as America changed as the attitudes towards the elderly begin to change. In recent years the elderly people have gained increasing attention for abuse, neglect and abandonment. In this research paper most information is knowledge base from classes in Human Behavior. The information has focused on the unique, important studies of the elderly. Governmental agencies strictly are dedicated to elderly abuse. The funds for the organization will come from state and national lotteries.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

There has been talk about banning elderly driving off the road in recent years. Some people suggest that the elderly should reapply for driving licenses. Elderly driver usually have loss of hearing, diminished vision, and slower reaction time. Elderly driver should reapply for driver’s license once they grow old because accidents and fatalities could be reduced by two folds. Since many of the accidents come from elderly drivers, fewer accidents would likely happen at all. There are certain issues that can impair ability to drive, which could be vision impairments, hearing impairments, cognitive impairments, as well as physical. All four of those factors could impact driving. Many of the traffic accidents that occur today come from …show more content…
When genetic diversity is reduced we all know that organisms may have genetic defects and they may suffer from inherited diseases. Also reduced genetic diversity will also cause the animal to die because most of the organism has the same genes and DNA. Cloning humans should not also allowed because of this but also it because it is going against nature A cloned organism would not necessarily look and behave like an organism. It is due to the environment and how the organism reacts to it. A cloned human might not behave like his or her own counterpart. When cloning a human, the embryo is usually destroyed because usually the cloning is not successful and this is considered unethical. Why cloning should not be allowed is because it is unjust and it is unmoral. In conclusion, cloning should not be allowed and it should be outright banned.
1) Background
Poverty of the elderly is a sensitive political issue in South Korea and it seems to be agreed that welfare policy should address this problem urgently. The average elderly poverty rate among OECD countries is 13.5% while Korea’s rate is 45.1%, 3.4 times higher.
Korea’s suicide rate of the elderly is nearly four times the average for OECD countries, with poverty widely understood to be an underlying factors.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper
An effective response to poverty among the elderly requires an accurate determination of which segments of the population are better and worse off. The higher poverty rate among the elderly does not necessarily imply that the same policies should be applied to all of Korea’s elderly. Indeed, …show more content…
This has resulted in severe distortions in support priorities since the actual economic resources of the elderly vary depending on the presence or absence of adult children within household. This suggest a need to account for the economic resources of adult children who are members of the household as a way of gauging the level of actual economic resources while still avoiding the potential pitfalls of the support obligor standards.A more effective policy approach for addressing poverty among the elderly prioritising those with the most urgent need based on accurate assessments of the economic resource of the entire household needs to be taken.

2) Poverty Level among the elderly in Korea
Because the Korean pension system is still relatively young and underdeveloped, its elderly poverty rate is higher than in other OECD nations. In most OECD nations, poverty among the elderly dropped sharply as pension systems matured.

Background: The population ageing phenomenon has started in many of developing countries like Iran. Most developed countries have accepted the age of “65” years as a definition of “elderly”, but some developing countries like Iran consider the age of “60”. We aimed to compare the physical and mental health of people who aged 60-64 years with those who aged 65-69 years in order to determine if the definition of elderly in our country is true.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between April to September 2011, in the west in Iran. Participants in this study are those who referred to the elderly care centers. With random sampling, 2 from 3 centers and with convenience sampling 302 peoples aged 60-69 years were selected. All participants were interviewed via face to face or with telephone using standard questionnaires including Kessler (K6) scale, psychological wellbeing scale, activities of daily living scale and sf-36 scale. The statistical differences were assessed by Pearson’s chi-square at 5% level of significance. Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper
Results: Statistical comparisons have shown that there is a significant difference among two age groups under study regarding to psychological distress scale, psychological wellbeing scale and activity of daily living scale.
As the need for elderly care is increasing, the problems of caring for the elderly is also increasing. The number of elderly persons in the United States is steadily rising. This brings into play the issue that the cost of the care for the elderly is also steadily elevating: as the cost of living grows, the cost of long- term care is also going to continue to increase. Seven out of ten people will receive long-term care in the United States. In 2010, there were an estimated 40 million people over the age of 65 as well as 5.5 million over the age of 85. By 2050, there will be an estimated 88 million people over 65 along as19 million over the age of 85. With these elevating numbers, elderly care will most likely become harder to afford as well as increasingly challenging to receive. Families will most likely start to look for alternatives for care for their elderly family members. In 2011, there were 210.9 billion dollars spent on long-term care in the United States. Surprisingly, 88 percent of a household’s income for adults can equal a whole years cost for home care. The average cost of living in a nursing home is $84,000 a year and expected to become even more expensive as the years go on. Annually, the cost of living for assisted living is $42,000. Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper
Introduction “According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans aged 65 and older account for 13 percent of the total population. This group increased by two percent each year between 2001 and 2009. And estimates show that the number of older Americans will only increase, with the first wave of Baby Boomers turning 65 in 2011. Over the next 15 years, America’s population aged 65 and older is projected to grow by another 60 percent. Currently, 16 percent of the nation’s drivers are 65 or older, up from 14 percent in 2000. Projections show that one in every five drivers will be 65 or older by 2025.” (AASHTO (2012)) Figure 1: Age Distribution and Median Age: 1960 to 2010 (Taken From ACRP 2014)
As seen in the paragraph and figure above there are many Americans that are older than the age of 65 and in a few more years there will be even more that are still driving. Not only is it very difficult to drive at an older age but it is very difficult for elderly people to travel in general when their mobility is not as well as it was in the past. This paper will explain the policies, standards and strategies our country is using to help ensure elderly people will be able to travel by cars, planes, and any other form of transportation that can be offered to them.
Aging is the length of time during which a being or thing has existed length of life (Webster dictionary). Growing old and becoming an elderly person can be challenging but, yet it can be very rewarding, it can bring a lot of good and bad. Aging has its rewards, but it presents the challenges of all stages of life. Growing old consist of gradual, ongoing changes in the body, changes such as shrinking in height in which the elderly tends to get shorter as he or she age. Elderly people tends to have less appetite which causes them to lose weight, and a decline in strength and vitality Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

area deep inside the brain, which is known as the hippocampus, there is where there, is a dramatic deterioration of explicit memory capacities supported by this region as we get older.

Many older people are cashing more than ever because they will not give up their car keys when they need to say it is time to give up driving. We should defiantly propose that we take care of this issue by making them retake the exam. So many elderly are getting into wrecks and some are even driving on the wrong side of the road killing people. By proposing that we need to force the elderly to retake that driving exam every six months is to insure that they will be able to drive more safely on our public roads still today. A lot of people agree and dis-agree with the retaking idea of an exam, but it would be very beneficial to enforce this as a new law due to the high rising risks of older drivers.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper
The ability to operate a vehicle affords them mobility in a state where alternate transportation is often not available” (Zarate, 2). The government could just make them retake the exam every year or every six months depending on past wrecks and medical issues. Missouri has not made this a law but there has been other attempts in other states that have been working great. “Today fifteen other states require accelerated license renewal for older drivers, but instead of renewals every four years they are renewed every two years or even annually” (Zarate, 2). “Illinois and New Hampshire are two states close to Missouri and they require a road test for applicants over age 75” (Zarate, 2). “Florida and Virginia may be farther, but they still require vision tests for drivers over 80” (Zarate, 2). The driving rates of wrecks would decrease considerably by providing a way of transportation for the elderly to still get around, but safer plus be able to maybe collect money off of it for the government. Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Intergumentary system The skin develops wrinkles and dark spots, skin becomes very easy to tear, and saggy because of the ability of the skin to produce oil, the skin becomes very dry and lusterless. The aging process affects groups of cells within hair follicle. Hair becomes thinner, hair color changes from its normal color to gray then eventually to white as cells quit functioning. Aging affects the bone strength to decline, friction between joints increases which causes pain while they move. There becomes a loss of density and strength due to porous. There is a depletion of minerals like calcium and phosphorus which makes the bones weak and fragile easily to have bone fracture which can cause an elderly person to be wheelchair or bedbound for life. Eyes, Ears (senses) Our vision changes as we age, objects appear blurred or unable to be seen.

When we are talking about the word neglect or abuse it is usually associated with woman, children and or animals. We forget to think about elderly abuse, which is overlooked because there is plenty of elderly who can look after themselves and still be a valuable part of society, but we forget the ones who are not capable of that. This paper is about raising concern about the ethical issues of elderly being abused and mistreated.

neglect & Financial ABUSE Neglect is the abandonment that the elder may feel when the caretaker is not fulfilling their obligations. Neglect includes not providing food, water, clothing, medications and assistance with daily activities such as personal hygiene. Some elderly also suffer from unintentional neglect due to a lack of understanding of their needs. An example of this is the caregiver may not provide a safe environment if they fail to realize there are rugs and poor lighting on stairs can be a hazard to elderly people. Or the caregiver may not know the nutritional requirements of the person in their care and may not provide him or her with the proper food. In a CNN report 12% of elders died in a nursing home due to neglect. Neglect can also be not paying the bills for the older person, if the care giver is responsible for paying their bills. The lack of paying the elder person bills is also another type of abuse which is called financial abuse and exploitation. The caregiver can use the older person personal funds or government funded money to satisfy their own needs and leave the elder with no money and in debt. Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay PaperDisaster preparedness refers to measures taken to prepare for and reduce the effects of disasters. That is, to predict and, where possible, prevent disasters, mitigate their impact on vulnerable populations, and respond to and effectively cope with their consequences.

Disaster preparedness provides a platform to design effective, realistic and coordinated planning, reduces duplication of efforts and increase the overall effectiveness of National Societies, household and community members disaster preparedness and response efforts. Disaster preparedness activities embedded with risk reduction measures can prevent disaster situations and also result in saving maximum lives and livelihoods during any disaster situation, enabling the affected population to get back to normalcy within a short time period.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

The occurrence and severity of natural disasters is increasing across the globe (The Economist, 2017). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have determined that preparing healthcare facilities for disaster is a national security priority (DHS, 2018). Across the United States, disasters happen almost every day. These disasters include:
•   Storms
•   Wildfires
•   Floods
•   Earthquakes
•   Mass shootings
•   Bombings
•   Chemical & industrial accidents
•   Epidemics
•   Terrorism

The outcome of these disasters is dependent on the healthcare system’s ability to respond and treat the injured or ill. The increased risk of a disaster occurring requires that communities nationwide have a well-prepared public health and healthcare disaster system. To mitigate the consequences of disasters, all communities need to have processes in place to treat the ill/injured and protect the healthy (Toner, 2017).Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

There are various preparedness programs already in place; however, funding for many of these programs has been drastically decreased over the years (Toner, 2017). In 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) preparedness rule was finalized and established emergency preparedness requirements for facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid and coordinates efforts with the federal, state, and local emergency preparedness systems (Toner, 2017).

In 2014 the Association of Public Health Nurses updated their position paper “The Role of the Public Health Nurse in Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery. This paper supplies guidance for the public health nurse’s role throughout the disaster cycle (Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN), 2014).

Nurses may be allowed by federal and/or state law or declarations to cross state boards to assist in disaster relief; however, it is important that the nurse knows and understands these laws prior to joining the disaster effort. Be sure to clarify the expectations for licensure with the organization you are volunteering with. Currently, there are no comprehensive, national legal protections for healthcare workers participating in the disaster cycle (Courtney, Priest, & Roost, 2012).Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Public health nursing is “the practice of promoting and protecting the health of populations using knowledge from nursing, social, and public health sciences” (American Public Health Association, Public Health Nursing Section, 2013, p.1). Currently there are an estimated 34,521 public health nurses (PHN) working across the U.S. This number represents a significant, nationwide shortage of PHN.

Public health nurses bring critical expertise to each phase of the disaster cycle: preparedness (prevention, protection, and mitigation), response and recovery. “They have a unique skill set and an ability to link systems that are vital to the disaster continuum to include, but not limited to disease surveillance, disease and health investigation, case finding, rapid needs assessment, public health triage, mass prophylaxis and treatment, collaboration, health teaching and provider education, community organizing, outreach and referral, population advocacy and policy development” (APHN, 2014, p. 6).Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

A disaster is an unplanned event in which the needs of the affected community outweigh the available resources. A disaster occurs somewhere in the world almost daily, but these events vary considerably in scope, size, and context. Large-scale disasters with numerous casualties are relatively unusual events. Certain widely publicized disasters, including events such as the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and the Boston Marathon bombing, have focused people’s attention on disaster planning and preparedness. Disasters are becoming more frequent, and the number of persons affected is also increasing. This greater morbidity is attributable not only to the greater number of events, but also to population dynamics, location, and susceptibilities.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

While these incidents have led to an increase in general disaster awareness, the relative infrequency of major catastrophes affecting defined populations leads to a certain degree of complacency and underestimation of the impact of such an event. In the wake of a large-scale event, public attention focuses on disaster planning and preparedness and the resources dedicated to improving response and resiliency surge

Emergency and disaster planning involves a coordinated, co-operative process of preparing to match urgent needs with available resources. The phases are research, writing, dissemination, testing, and updating. Hence, an emergency plan needs to be a living document that is periodically adapted to changing circumstances and that provides a guide to the protocols, procedures, and division of responsibilities in emergency response. Emergency planning is an exploratory process that provides generic procedures for managing unforeseen impacts and should use carefully constructed scenarios to anticipate the needs that will be generated by foreseeable hazards when they strike. Plans need to be developed for specific sectors, such as education, health, industry, and commerce. They also need to exist in a nested hierarchy that extends from the local emergency response (the most fundamental level), through the regional tiers of government, to the national and international levels. Failure to plan can be construed as negligence because it would involve failing to anticipate needs that cannot be responded to adequately by improvisation during an emergency.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Plans are needed, not only for responding to the impacts of disaster, but also to maintain business continuity while managing the crisis, and to guide recovery and reconstruction effectively. Dealing with disaster is a social process that requires public support for planning initiatives and participation by a wide variety of responders, technical experts and citizens. It needs to be sustainable in the light of challenges posed by non-renewable resource utilization, climate change, population growth, and imbalances of wealth. Although, at its most basic level, emergency planning is little more than codified common sense, the increasing complexity of modern disasters has required substantial professionalization of the field. This is especially true in light of the increasing role in emergency response of information and communications technology. Disaster planners and coordinators are resource managers, and in the future, they will need to cope with complex and sophisticated transfers of human and material resources. In a globalizing world that is subject to accelerating physical, social, and economic change, the challenge of managing emergencies well depends on effective planning and foresight, and the ability to connect disparate elements of the emergency response into coherent strategies.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Emergency planning can be defined as the process of preparing systematically for future contingencies, including major incidents and disasters. The plan is usually a document, shared between participants and stakeholders that specifies tasks and responsibilities adopted in the multi-agency response to the emergency. It is a blueprint for managing events and, as such, should be responsive to management needs. It should specify the lineaments of action, collaboration, command, and communication during a civil contingency such as a disaster or major event; in other words, it is the framework for emergency response. The maintenance of public safety, limitation of damage, protection of the vulnerable, and efficient use of life-saving resources are some of the goals of the plan. Although the end product is a document, emergency planning is more a process than an outcome, especially as the plan itself will need to be updated over time as circumstances change.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

The Evolution of Emergency and Disaster Planning

As we know it today, emergency planning for disasters derives from civil defense, a form of social organization designed to protect civilians against armed aggression. The latter is a relatively new concept that in its modern form antedates the Second World War by only a very brief period. Although there had been rudimentary forms of organization for the protection of non-combatants in previous conflicts—for example, the American Civil War of the 1860s—the attack on Guernica, in the Basque country of Spain, on April 26, 1937, by German aircraft was the first concerted aerial bombardment (it killed 1,654 civilians) and the first occasion on which this had to be countered by properly organized measures of protection. It was a curtain raiser to the bombardments of the early 1940s, in which civil defense grew enormously, although largely without the benefits of fully codified plans. During this period, civil defense operatives were responsible for search and rescue, safeguarding and accommodating the survivors of bombing raids, ensuring public safety and interdicting areas that had become unsafe.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

The rather temporary apogee reached by civil defense during the Second World War was subsequently followed by reorganization in order to face the demands of the Cold War, in which civilian life was overshadowed by the threat of a thermo-nuclear exchange between the great powers. During this period, plans were usually kept secret and were predicated on the assumption—highly debatable—that citizens could be protected and given shelter against nuclear blasts and radioactive fallout.

Détente and the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc led to the gradual end of the era of civil defense, and the slow rise of civil protection, which is designed to protect people against the effects of natural, technological, and societal hazards. In its purest form, civil defense is a service provided by the central state and directed at the national level (i.e., it is fundamentally “top-down”). Civil protection is a decentralized service (i.e., “bottom-up”), in which the basis of organization is local, which usually means that it is centered on the municipal level.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Emergency planning is a relatively young field that began to develop systematically in the 1970s, coincidentally with the rise of civil protection. Initially, it did so largely in response to technological hazards such as toxic spills and industrial explosions. Later, there was an increasing emphasis on natural disasters, such as floods, storms and earthquakes.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Academic studies of disaster have a somewhat longer history than does civil defense. They began in earnest in the 1920s with the founding of a sociological approach and, in parallel, a human ecological school of thought, which was mainly based in the discipline of geography. Development was slow until the 1950s, when fear of the consequences of nuclear war gave impetus to the study of how human populations behave in crisis situations, using natural disasters as—rather inadequate—analogues for a thermo-nuclear exchange. Earlier, geographers had started to study the human dimensions of the flood problem, notably Gilbert Fowler White, whose thesis on adaptation to floods was published in 1945. Starting in the 1970s, there was a sustained increase in studies of extreme natural phenomena, which gradually came to grips with the role of such hazards to human life and activities. In the late 1970s, a school of thought developed that suggested that vulnerability, not hazards, is the real key to understanding disaster. Despite countless demonstrations of this axiom, studies of vulnerability have lagged behind those of hazard, the other principal ingredient in the making of disaster. In terms of how academic work supports emergency planning, this means that there has been a plethora of studies of the inputs to plans (see, for example, the hazard scenarios in the section “The Use of Scenarios”), but a paucity of studies of how construct and use emergency plans. On this basis, emergency planning has developed in a somewhat faltering mode, in which only some of the activities associated with it are well served with academic inputs.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Most civil contingencies are small enough to be resolved adequately without qualitative changes in daily management procedures or quantitative changes in the availability of resources. Hence, this article will concentrate on the small minority of emergencies, usually fewer than one in ten, that are large enough to substantially disrupt daily life and normal working procedures. There is no consistently reliable way of distinguishing between major incidents, disasters, and catastrophes (but see Table 1 for an attempt at this). Nevertheless, all of these events have in common the fact that they must be resolved by the suspension of normal procedures and substitution of emergency ones. In the latter, the imperatives, tasks, and relationships between participants are sufficiently exceptional to require substantial reorganization and working methods that differ from those employed in workaday routines.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Emergency response involves a mixture of plans, procedures, and improvization. To some extent, the last of these is inevitable, but it needs to be limited by preparedness. It is axiomatic that planning and procedures should not be improvised during an emergency when they should have been thought through and created beforehand. The consequence of unwonted improvisation is inefficiency in emergency response, which may have serious or tragic consequences. A degree of uniqueness present in each new disaster means that improvisation cannot be avoided, but foresight and preparedness can constrain it to a necessary minimum. Moreover, emergencies are always occasions for learning, and a significant part of the body of experience on which plans are based comes from the mistakes, inefficiencies, and improvisations of the past. Although many publications have the phrase “lessons learned” in their titles, there is no guarantee that a lesson will indeed be learned. If that does indeed happen, measurable positive change will result directly from the lesson. For example, lack of search-and-rescue equipment may be keenly felt in structural collapses that trap people. Hence, probes, props, and personal protection equipment may be acquired and personnel trained in how to use them.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

To understand the role of the public health nurse and the nursing process during a disaster, review the APHN Position Statement at http://nacchopreparedness.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/APHN_Role-of-PHN-in-Disaster-PRR_FINALJan14.pdf. Specifically table 1 on page 7.

Disaster preparedness, response, and recovery are critical components of public safety. Public health nurses who understand the population-based nature of a disaster response and possess the knowledge and skills to respond in a timely and appropriate manner to any type of disaster are a vital component to this process (APHN, 2014).Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Disaster preparedness is a continuous and integrated process resulting from a wide range of risk reduction activities and resources rather than from a distinct sectoral activity by itself. It requires the contributions of many different areas - ranging from training and logistics, to health care, recovery, livelihood to institutional development. Viewed from this broad perspective Disaster preparedness encompasses:

• Recognizing the Red Cross/Red Crescent role in disaster preparedness as complementary to government and thus will not replace state responsibilities. In addition, the National Society should engage in debate with the government on the focus and nature of the National Response Plan and encourage the assignment of a clear role and responsibilities to the National Society, supported by appropriate legislation.

• Increasing the efficiency, effectiveness and impact of disaster response mechanisms at the community, national and Federation level. This includes:
- the development and regular testing of warning systems (linked to forecasting systems) and plans for evacuation or other measures to be taken during a disaster alert period to minimise potential loss of life, livelihoods and physical damage.
- the education and training of volunteers, staff and the population at risk
- the training of first-aid and disaster response teams
- the establishment of disaster response policies, standards, organizational arrangements and operational plans to be followed after a disaster.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

• Strengthening community-based disaster preparedness through National Society programmes for the community or through direct support of the community's own activity. This could include educating, preparing and supporting local populations and communities in their everyday efforts to reduce risks and prepare their own local response mechanisms to address disaster emergency situations.

• Raising awareness of disaster hazards through public education, encouraging vulnerable people to take preventative and mitigating actions where possible before disaster strikes. Ensure that the Knowledge from prediction and early warning systems can be accessed, understood and acted upon by local communities.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Disaster preparedness is achieved partially through readiness measures that expedite Disaster response, rehabilitation and recovery and result in rapid, timely and targeted assistance. It is also achieved through community-based approaches and activities that build the capacities of people and communities to cope with and minimize the effects of a disaster on their lives.

A comprehensive disaster preparedness strategy would therefore include the following elements:

1. Hazard, risk and vulnerability assessments
2. Response mechanisms and strategies
3. Preparedness plans
4. Coordination
5. Information management
6. Early warning systems
7. Resource mobilization
8. Public education, training,& Drills and simulations
9. Community-Based disaster preparedness Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Community-based disaster preparedness incorporates the concept of building on and using local knowledge and resources in order to improve a population’s capacity to withstand the impact of disasters. As first responders to a disaster (i.e., search and rescue teams and the provision of emergency treatment and relief), communities need to be equipped to manage with the consequences of small-, medium- and large-scale natural hazards when they strike.

The work of the Red Cross and Red Crescent at the community level is paramount in addressing and being able to respond to vulnerabilities at the most direct level. Community preparedness activities should include an analysis of risks, vulnerability and capacities (VCA). Early warning systems should be accessible and understood by local communities, who can then act on warnings. Public awareness and public education campaigns, organization and training of community disaster response teams, and the development and testing of community response plans through simulations are all actions that empower communities in the face of disasters.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

To effectively support community level programming and scale up activities National Societies’ capacities must also reinforced. This includes strengthening the capacities of National Societies in disaster preparedness and post-disaster response, determining the role and mandate of the National Society in national disaster plans, and establishing regional networks of National Societies that can support each other in times of disaster.

National Society capacities can be further reinforced through the establishment of National Disaster Preparedness and Response Mechanisms. These include: self-assessment process (WPNS), standard operating procedures, response and contingency plans, drills and simulations, logistics pre-agreement, volunteer disaster response teams, among others.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

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