Emergency Management and People with Disabilities
Community Emergency Planning
Developing Communications
Evacuation Plans
Disability Needs in the Recovery Phase
Personal Emergency Planning
Disability Etiquette
Resources and Links:
Special Needs and Emergencies links
Disability Etiquette links
Statewide Red Cross Contacts
WVEMS Units and Fire Departments
Checklist and Other Resources
Community Emergency Planning
Emergencies and People with Disabilities
One of the most important roles of local government is to protect citizens from harm, including helping people prepare for and respond to emergencies. Making local government emergency preparedness and response programs accessible to people with disabilities is a critical part of this responsibility. Making these programs accessible is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
The ADA requires accommodations in public services. A public accommodation is made by a private entity that owns, operates, leases or leases to a place of public usage. Places of public accommodation include restaurants, hotels, theaters, doctors' offices, pharmacies, retail stores, museums, libraries, parks, private schools and day care centers. The ADA requires that these establishments do not discriminate against persons with disabilities.
If you are responsible for your community's emergency planning or response activities, you should involve people with disabilities in identifying needs and evaluating effective emergency management practices. Issues that have the greatest impact on people with disabilities include:
- Notification
- Evacuation
- Emergency transportation
- Sheltering
- Access to medical care and medications
- Access to mobility devices or service animals while in transit or at shelters
- Access to information
In planning for emergency services, you should consider the needs of people who use mobility aids such as wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, canes or crutches or people who have limited stamina. Plans also need to include people who use oxygen or respirators, people who are blind or who have low vision, people who are hard of hearing, people who have a cognitive disability, people with mental illness and those with other types of disabilities.
Developing Communications
Include people with disabilities in all levels of emergency planning
Emergency planning should include a focused educational and awareness effort to ensure that:
- Emergency officials include people with disabilities in the planning, training exercises and the response activities undertaken at the community level.
- People with disabilities take an active role in participating alongside emergency officials before, during and after an emergency.
- People with disabilities take measures to prepare themselves for emergencies.
Know your community members
- Identify concentrations of people with disabilities who live in the community. These would include senior housing developments, residential care facilities and schools.
- Work with primary and specialty healthcare providers to identify their roles in disaster planning for their patients with special needs.
- Partner with community organizations.
- Help families of children with special needs develop disaster shelter plans.
- Identify resources and funding from public and private healthcare funding agencies.
Develop a special needs registry
Consider developing a special needs registry if one does not exist. Include people meeting specified criteria who voluntarily list themselves to make local emergency authorities aware of their presence. Recognize that no matter how comprehensive a registry may be, not all people with disabilities will register. Therefore, any registry should be considered only as a guide in an emergency and not as a definitive or exhaustive list. Also, it should be updated periodically (e.g., once a year).
Develop a disability phone tree
Another communication tool is a phone tree. This can be a particularly effective way to reach people with disabilities. Community emergency managers should be responsible for initiating communication to the top-level contact persons on each branch of a phone tree who in turn call the next level or branch of the tree.
Evacuation Plans
There are several types of facilities and structures where special consideration is required in connection with the evacuation of people with disabilities.
Buildings, residential facilities and other tall or large structures with relatively permanent residents
As part of emergency planning efforts, it is important to work with the administrators of these facilities to ensure that each structure has a workable evacuation plan in place. Administrators should conduct regular drills so residents and employees within their structures are familiar with these plans.
Large facilities, such as stadiums, arenas and museums with no permanent residents
In these facilities, full-scale evacuation drills are usually not feasible (with certain exceptions such as schools). It is critical to ensure that the managers of these facilities have effective evacuation procedures in place for people with disabilities.
Entire communities
Community evacuation plans should be designed to allow the necessary time, consideration and assistance for people with disabilities to be adequately notified of evacuation plans. They must be able to bring service animals and special equipment with them (e.g., wheelchairs, dialysis machines, ventilators).
Disability Needs in the Recovery Phase
The recovery phase of an emergency typically is the longest and most difficult aspect of a disaster for a community's residents. This phase can be especially traumatic for people with disabilities. In addition to coping with any personal losses or injuries they may have suffered, people with disabilities who experience a disaster may be deprived of vital connections to attendants, service animals, neighbors and even family members.
Include major considerations in the recovery phase
- Make allowances at blockades, shelters and other impacted areas for access by attendants, home health aides, visiting nurses, service animals and other individuals crucial to the immediate health care needs of people with disabilities.
- Plan for an accessible shelter and appropriate temporary housing needs.
- Involve persons with disabilities in "after action reviews" to capture the true impact of the disaster and to improve plans for the future.
Consider other factors
- Train volunteers ahead of time in the basics of helping their fellow residents with disabilities.
- Understand the federal, state and local regulatory codes that address special needs issues in the context of emergency planning.
- Ensure shelters meet ADA accessibility standards so that all members of a community can find safety. The level of medical oversight provided in a shelter must be determined well in advance of an emergency.
- Make accessible transportation available during and after a disaster.
- Make sure groups that provide services to persons with disabilities are involved in planning to ensure ongoing services to people with disabilities after a disaster.
- Ensure emergency equipment includes specialized evacuation chairs, transfer-height cots, communication boards and reverse 911 notification systems.
Emergency professionals can rely on the Red Cross "Disaster Preparedness for People with Disabilities" handbook found at: www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/disability.pdf
for information on emergency equipment. (Note: this is a PDF file.)
Personal Emergency Planning
If you are a person with a disability, know how to reduce the impact of a disaster on yourself.
What can you do to reduce the effects of the disaster and to develop a personal disaster plan? Start by considering the following actions:
- Create a personal support network.
- Complete a personal assessment of your needs.
- Collect information and take actions that will help you meet your needs during evacuations and after the disaster happens.
- Gather essential supplies you will need during and after a disaster, and especially those specific to your disability.
- Make your home or office safe.
Evacuation options
Understand your emergency evacuation options. Use your judgment, given your specific situation and the information you have available during an emergency. If you will need evacuation assistance, your options could include:
- Being carried
- Using evacuation chairs
- Identifying an area of refuge/rescue assistance
- Using an elevator
- Establishing an emergency plan for your home
Personal support network
Organize a network for your home, school or workplace - any place where you spend a lot of time. A personal support network is made up of individuals who will check with you and assist when needed. These people are usually located in the same area as you.
Include at least three people for each location where you spend time and give each of them a copy of the disaster preparedness lists you have created, such as:
- Your personal needs assessment, medical information, disability-related supplies and special equipment, evacuation plans and documents you might need
- A plan of how and when you and your network will contact each other during an emergency
Also, consider doing the following activities with your network team:
- Show them how to operate and safely move the equipment you use.
- Make sure your service animal knows the people in your network.
- Have network members practice your evacuation plan during a simulated emergency.
Disability-related items you use
Make a list of all special items you use, including a description of each. Options could include:
- Disability-related supplies and special equipment such as wheelchair, walker, crutches, cane, glasses, hearing device, writing device, eating utensils, dentures, medical equipment, prescriptions or supplies
- Service animals and pet supplies (such as food, extra water, leash/harness/collar, ID tags, medications)
Personal needs assessment
A checklist of recommended items in the personal needs assessment is found here under "Checklist and Other Resources".
Make a list of your personal needs and how you meet them. Then, make an additional list to include resources or additional assistance you would need in each area during a disaster. Include these items on your lists:
Getting around
- Transportation, such as a specially-equipped vehicle or accessible transportation
- Errands, such as getting groceries or medications
Daily living
- Personal care such as adaptive equipment for getting dressed or shower chair or tub transfer bench
- Water service
- Adaptive feeding devices or special utensils
- Electricity-dependent equipment, such as dialysis or electrical lifts
Evacuating
- Building exits, such as other exits if elevator isn't working
- Getting help, how to get help leaving the building
- Mobility aids, such as service animals and assistive technology
- Ramp access, such as other options if ramp is broken or separated from building
- Service animals/pets, and how to provide food, shelter and veterinary attention after a disaster
Disability Etiquette
Person First
In speaking or writing, remember that children or adults with disabilities are like everyone else - except they happen to have a disability. Therefore, here are a few tips for improving your language related to disabilities.
- Speak of the person first, then the disability.
- Emphasize abilities, not limitations.
- Do not label people as part of a disability group - don't say "the disabled." Say "people with disabilities."
- A "disability" is a functional limitation that interferes with a person's ability to walk, hear, talk or learn. A "handicap" is a situation or barrier imposed by society, the environment or oneself.
| Say... |
Instead of... |
| child with a disability |
disabled or handicapped child |
| person with cerebral palsy |
palsied, C.P., or spastic |
| person who has |
afflicted, suffers from, victim |
| without speech, nonverbal |
mute, dumb |
| developmental delay |
slow |
| emotional disorder |
crazy or insane |
| person who is deaf or hard of hearing |
deaf and dumb |
| uses a wheelchair |
confined to a wheelchair |
| person with retardation |
retarded |
| has a learning disability |
is learning disabled |
| has a physical disability |
crippled |
| seizures |
fits |
| cleft lip |
hare lip |
| mobility impaired |
lame |
| medically involved, or has a chronic illness |
sickly |
| paralyzed |
invalid or paralytic |
| has quadriplegia |
quadriplegic |
| has paraplegia |
paraplegic |
| born with |
birth defect |
Disability Acronyms
General disability acronyms:
- ADA - The Americans with Disabilities Act
- ASL - American Sign Language, which is an American language other than English
- TDD - Telecommunication Device for the Deaf, also referred to as TTY - teletypewriter
Other Etiquette Tips
- Accept persons with disabilities as individuals, entitled to the same respect and treatment you would want for yourself.
- Treat adults with disabilities as adults. Do not patronize them by telling them how courageous they are, patting them on the back or talking to them like children.
- Extending to shake hands is appropriate for greeting all individuals regardless of disability.
- Speak directly to the person with a disability rather than through a companion.
- While it is rude to stare or ask personal questions, do not pretend the disability does not exist.
- Offer assistance, but wait until your offer is accepted before you help. If your offer to help is declined, do not insist. Listen to any instructions the person may want to give you.
- Be considerate of the extra time a person with a disability may need. Let the person set the pace in talking or walking.
Resources and Links
Special Needs and Emergencies
Disaster Preparedness for People with Disabilities
American Red Cross Disaster Services
This detailed 48-page booklet can be downloaded in PDF format.
An ADA Guide for Local Governments - Making Community Emergency Preparedness and Response Programs Accessible to People with Disabilities
U.S. Department of Justice
Effective Emergency Preparedness Planning: Addressing the Needs of Employees with Disabilities
U.S. Department of Labor
Employers Guide to Including Employees with Disabilities in Emergency Evacuation Plans
Job Accommodation Network
Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities
U.S. Department of Transportation
Preparing Emergencies for the Special Needs Population: A Checklist for People with Mobility Problems
Downloadable PDF Emergency checklist
Emergency Preparedness Initiative (EPI) for Emergency Managers, Planners & Responders
Many detailed online guides are available and can be downloaded in PDF or HTML format
Emergency Preparedness Initiative: Guide on the Special Needs of People with Disabilities For Emergency Managers, Planners and Responders (PDF format)
National Organization on Disability (NOD)
Disability and Emergency Preparedness Resources: West Virginia
Offers links to various statewide emergency preparedness resources
Emergency Evacuation Preparedness: Taking Responsibility for Your Safety: A Guide for People with Disabilities and Other Activity Limitations (PDF format)
Center for Disability Issues and the Health Professions (CDIHP)
Evacuation Preparedness Guide
Focuses on people with disabilities and activity limitations.
Center for Disability Issues in the Health Professions (CDIHP)
DisabilityInfo.gov
Links to many resources related to emergency preparedness
The NBDC Yellow Pages: Specific Disability Resources
National Business & Disability Council (NBDC)
Disaster Resources for People with Disabilities and Emergency Managers
Assisting People with Disabilities in a Disaster
FCC Consumer Facts - Closed Captioning (Federal Communications Commission)
Requirement that all video programming distributors who provide emergency information do so in a format that is accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing or blind or have low vision
Emergency Backup & Safety and Prevention Strategies Brochure (MS Word document)
This brochure provides safety and prevention strategies, planning for backup care, preparing for attendant support during a community-wide disaster, how to minimize risk of theft, and health care emergency instructions and forms.
Disability Etiquette
Disability Etiquette Tips for Speaking Engagements
Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
Disability Etiquette - Section 504 Handbook
Contains many etiquette tips related to (a) blindness and visual impairments and (b) speech disabilities
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Disability Etiquette: Using Words with Dignity
Guidelines by the Community Resources for Independence (CRI)
Disability Training
Contains lists of many videos, CDs, DVDs and training courses that can be ordered to assist with disability awareness
Employ-ABILITY Handbook
Accessible Attitudes: Disability Etiquette for One-Stop Staff
Disability Basics - etiquette guidelines, attitudinal barriers and positive language
Suggestions by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability (NCWD)/Youth
The Disability Etiquette Page
General disability, blind, deaf and wheelchair user etiquette tips.
Ten Commandments Of Communicating With People With Disabilities
26-minute training video or DVD that can be purchased for disability awareness training
Disability Etiquette
Farm Safety News
Statewide Red Cross Contacts
Berkeley County Chapter
205 East King Street
Martinsburg, WV 25401
Phone: 304-263-5241
Fax: 304-264-3873
Email: arcberkeleyco@aol.com
Fayette-Nicholas Chapter
PO Box 355 (208 Main St. E)
Oak Hill, WV 25901-0355
Phone: 304-469-4636
Fax: 304-469-4638
Jefferson-Morgan Counties Chapter
1948 Wiltshire Road, Suite 2
Kearneysville, WV 25430
Phone: 304-725-5015
Weirton Office
3146 Main Street
Weirton, WV 26062
Phone: 304-797-1600
Wheeling Office
193 - 29th Street
Wheeling, WV 26003
Phone: 304-232-0711
Morgantown Office
1299 Pineview Drive, Suite 3
Morgantown, WV 26505
Phone: 304-598-9500
Central WV Chapter
Phone: 888-574-2459
Email:info@cwv-redcross.org
WV EMS Units and Fire Departments
West Virginia State Fire Marshal
Sterling Lewis Jr.
1207 Quarrier St., (2nd Flr.)
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: 304-558-2191
www.wvfiremarshal.org/
WV Fire Departments
List of all fire departments and contact information by city.
www.wvfiremarshal.org/pdf/fd%20list1-03.PDF (PDF format)
www.wvfiremarshal.org/fdallhtm03.htm (HTML format)
WV EMS/First Response Units
www.wvochs.org/shared/content/ems/pdfs/rptagencymailing5162.pdf
For a verbal manifest of statewide EMS units or fire departments, call the Fire Marshal's office at 304-558-2191.
Checklist and Other Resources
Be Ready: Create a "ready kit" and a "go bag".
You should create a comprehensive "ready kit" with the many supplies necessary to self-sustain for a period of time. Also create a "go bag" containing your most essential items to take with you if you must leave immediately.
Items on this list can be included in both the "ready kit" and "go bag". It is up to you to decide the most essential items to include for you and your family.
- Three-day supply of non-perishable food and manual can opener. Make sure the food meets your dietary requirements.
- Three-day supply of water. Plan for one gallon per person per day, but you may need more; consult with your doctor.
- Medical equipment and assistive devices (glasses, hearing aids, catheters, augmentative communication devices, canes, walkers). Label each with your name and contact information. Be sure to have extra batteries and chargers.
- Medications, including a list of prescription name, dosage, frequency, doctor and pharmacist. Also consider if medications need to be refrigerated and if so, bring a cooler with an ice pack or other coolant system.
- List of emergency contact information including your support network members in and out of the region, service providers, etc.
- Copies of important documents (birth certificate, passport licenses, insurance information, proof of address).
- Extra set of keys.
- Flashlight and radio with extra batteries.
- Cash, credit cards, checkbook, ATM card.
- Sanitation and hygiene items including soap, denture care, absorbent pads, etc.
- Items for infants, such as formula, diapers, bottles, and pacifiers.
- Supplies for a service animal including food, identification tags, proof of up-to-date vaccinations, and veterinarian contact.
- Clothes, blanket, pillow.
- White distress flag or cloth, whistle, flashlights and/or glow sticks.
- Basic first aid kit.
- Identify your disability-related or health condition need by writing it down or wearing medical alert tags or bracelets.
|
