In recent years, America has faced a plague of natural disasters including hurricanes, forest fires and floods. Unfortunately, this situation leads to the loss of lives in thousands. Experts suggest that this numbers could be reduced if people took preparation for natural disasters more seriously. Thus various facilities take on the responsibility of prior preparation by making upgrades on a regular basis. Notably, nursing homes are taking this initiative with the needs of their inhabitants in mind in case a natural disaster occurs. It is crucial to study what such facilities are doing as is discussed in this article to inspire the same preparation across the board.
One way that nursing homes prepare for natural disasters is educating their staff. The employees are the first responders in case of a natural disaster. Thus, nursing home management ensures that their employees have the know-how in dealing with natural disasters ( McGuire, Ford, & Okoro, 2007) . They are given practical skills on how to conduct an evacuation. In light of the mobility issues when dealing with seniors, staff members learn how to find the nearest emergency exist and assist these older persons in good time. Also, they are trained in first aid for various conditions such as a heart attack, strokes and other injuries. This approach is necessary because older persons are likely to suffer from this conditions when subjected to the stress of a natural disaster. With this training in mind, the staff is are more confident and better equipped to deal with natural disasters in their areas.
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Setting natural disaster procedures and guidelines is another form of preparation for natural disasters in nursing homes. All nursing homes are required to have guidelines and an evacuation plan in case of a natural disaster. Such plans indicate the number of staff members that should be on duty constantly to ensure that if a disaster happened there are enough people to deal with the situation. Also, there are clear duties assigned to all the staff in such a situation. For example, the floor staff gather all the patients and move them to designated emergency areas. The administrator is in charge of taking the register and ensuring that all individuals are accounted for. The medical personnel also ensure that any injuries are dealt with before the patients have access to a clinic or hospital. Such prior planning helps the staff members to consolidate their efforts towards saving lives.
Structural preparations are also a necessity for nursing homes in case of a natural disaster. This refers to the fact that the building requires an easy exit. Notably, the biggest challenge with elder people in nursing homes is mobility. As a result of their age and health conditions, they cannot move as fast and some cannot even move from their beds. Therefore, the nursing home must be reinforced to withstand external forces and allow time for evacuation ( Bakkensen, Fox ‐ Lent, Read, & Linkov, 2017) . Some of the structural reinforcements in case of a disaster include having ramps from one floor to the other. Also, these buildings need generators to act as a back-up in case the power goes out. There should be fire extinguishers and first aid kits distributed throughout to contain small fires or injuries. Also, there should be phones that can help reach people from the outside such as the police and hospitals. Additionally, there should be wheelchairs available to help move the patients to designated areas. Also, there should be emergency exists in various areas that allow the patients and staff safely out the building. With these measures in place, there is a better chance of saving more people and reducing the number of injuries that the staff has to deal with.
Also, all the residents need information on procedures prior to natural disasters. This information must be continuous such that they are always prepared and remember what to do. This information should be on the nursing home websites, and brochures accessible to the occupants at all times ( Veenema, 2018) . Notably, the nursing homes can have sessions where they go through the guidelines in case of a disaster and answer any questions from the residents. Ideally, they can also practice evacuation procedures to keep the staff and patients ready for such an event. It is paramount that these sessions are guided by an expert in disaster management such that the information given is reliable. During these sessions, the teaching should be done in a way that the residents can easily remember including the use of visuals and props. This approach will help them keep safety rules in mind even when the real disaster occurs.
In conclusion, nursing homes prepare for natural disasters by educating their staff and residents, making structural adjustments to their establishment and setting evacuation guidelines for their facilities. Unfortunately, most nursing homes do not fully enforce these procedures and end up with quite a number of casualties in the event of a disaster. It is advisable that relevant authorities such as the community and local government hold the management responsibility to protect the residents. Thus families that intend to use nursing homes for their relatives are encouraged to ask questions with regard to this matter and report the facility if they do not meet the county standards for safety in the event of a natural disaster. On the other hand, nursing homes need to take responsibility for their residents and enforce these measures without threats from concerned parties. They must shoulder this responsibility as a requirement.
References
Veenema, T. G. (Ed.). (2018). Disaster nursing and emergency preparedness . Springer Publishing Company.
Bakkensen, L. A., Fox ‐ Lent, C., Read, L. K., & Linkov, I. (2017). Validating resilience and vulnerability indices in the context of natural disasters. Risk analysis .
McGuire, L. C., Ford, E. S., & Okoro, C. A. (2007). Natural disasters and older US adults with disabilities: implications for evacuation. Disasters .
