Long Term Care Facilities

Disaster Preparedness Planning

Templates and Directions

Disaster Preparedness for Long Term Care Facilities

Letter to Facility Administrator:

Dear Facility Administrator

Fall is here, and it’s time to look to the coming winter and review your facility’s preparedness status.

Last winter, the Puget Sound area experienced multiple storms that caused wide-spread damage. While levels varied from area to area, many people experienced power outages that lasted anywhere from a few hours to more than a week. Some areas were flooded. Other areas had roads blocked making it difficult for people to get in or out in an emergency. In all cases, government services were prioritized based on life-safety issues, and routine or non-critical problems were dealt with as resources became available (often several days later).

Unfortunately, these relatively mild events, proved that many care facilities are not adequately prepared for emergencies or disasters.

Each adult and/or long-term care facility must be prepared to manage without government assistance for a minimum of three days. This includes being able to provide adequate meals and potable water and maintaining safety and sanitary conditions.

I am enclosing a template for your use in developing or reviewing your all-hazards emergency preparedness plans. While the first several pages provide a written “plan” that can be adapted and used as the background document, the pages in the back of the document include checklists with quick and easy steps that you can take to prepare now against disaster.

If you have any questions, please contact Jamie Gravelle at (425)776-3722.

Sincerely,

Lyn M Gross, CEM

Director