In 200 words respond: When are emergency operation plans used at an Assisted Living facility? Give some examples on what happens when not prepared. Research natural disaster Katrina as one example.  In two different paragraph with not less than 100 words give your personal opinion to  Elena Mears and Riva Inocencio  Riva Inocencio   Vulnerable Populations and Sheltering In Place You would want to use a Shelter In Place (SIP) plan at an Assisted Living Facility in most cases in a state of emergency. This is because SIP is defined as “A protective action strategy taken to maintain resident care in the facility and to limit the movement of residents, staff and visitors in order to protect people and property from a hazard” (AHCA/NCAL). In the case of earthquakes, sandstorms, terrorism, or pandemics, it is safest for people to stay indoors. Keeping people inside of these facilities is much safe than the alternative - evacuation, because more often than not, people in these facilities need help doing daily functions - one, they would not survive on their own, and two, someone would have to come get them (putting even more people at risk of danger).  Imagine if, instead of sheltering in place during this COVID-19 pandemic, nursing homes, rehab centers, or skilled nursing facilities sent their residents home to their prospective families? That would be a disaster. That would expose the most vulnerable population of coronavirus to coronavirus - that is more than just a liability, that would be inhumane. That is why assisted living facilities must have and Emergency Preparedness Guide in their policies and procedures and make sure their staff is prepared at any moment.  Something interesting: Jails are actually releasing inmates to the public due to coronavirus concerns. I think there is a lot to unpack there. In Pittsburgh, where I live, this has happened:  https://www.wtae.com/article/inmates-released-from-allegheny-county-jail-due-to-coronavirus-concerns/31953103# American Health Care Association & National Center for Assisted Living. (AHCA/NCAL) Shelter In Place: Planning Resource Guid  Elena Mears  Failure to plan is planning to fail.   Healthcare facilities of all types and levels of care must maintain preparedness for a myriad of emergencies – fire, hurricanes, floods, tornados, earthquakes, and even active shooters.  Over 2.4 million American seniors live in special senior care facilities – 31,000 are assisted living (Hyer, 2013).   Every such facility should have a documented plan for how they will respond in the event of an emergency.  By most state’s laws, that emergency plan should be filed with and approved by local authorities.  Whether facility management elect to evacuate or shelter in place will depend on the circumstances.               Consider Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 tropical storm that hit the southern gulf region of the U.S. and devasted the city of New Orleans.   The violent storm and ill-designed levees l.

1. In 200 words respond:
When are emergency operation plans used at an Assisted Living
facility? Give some examples on what happens when not
prepared. Research natural disaster Katrina as one example.
In two different paragraph with not less than 100 words give
your personal opinion to Elena Mears and Riva Inocencio
Riva Inocencio
Vulnerable Populations and Sheltering In Place
You would want to use a Shelter In Place (SIP) plan at an
Assisted Living Facility in most cases in a state of emergency.
This is because SIP is defined as “A protective action strategy
taken to maintain resident care in the facility and to limit the
movement of residents, staff and visitors in order to protect
people and property from a hazard” (AHCA/NCAL). In the case
of earthquakes, sandstorms, terrorism, or pandemics, it is safest
for people to stay indoors. Keeping people inside of these
facilities is much safe than the alternative - evacuation, because
more often than not, people in these facilities need help doing
daily functions - one, they would not survive on their own, and
two, someone would have to come get them (putting even more
people at risk of danger).
Imagine if, instead of sheltering in place during this COVID-19
pandemic, nursing homes, rehab centers, or skilled nursing
facilities sent their residents home to their prospective families?
That would be a disaster. That would expose the most
vulnerable population of coronavirus to coronavirus - that is
more than just a liability, that would be inhumane. That is why
assisted living facilities must have and Emergency Preparedness

2. Guide in their policies and procedures and make sure their staff
is prepared at any moment.
Something interesting: Jails are actually releasing inmates to
the public due to coronavirus concerns. I think there is a lot to
unpack there. In Pittsburgh, where I live, this has happened:
https://www.wtae.com/article/inmates-released-from-allegheny-
county-jail-due-to-coronavirus-concerns/31953103#
American Health Care Association & National Center for
Assisted Living. (AHCA/NCAL) Shelter In Place: Planning
Resource Guid
Elena Mears
Failure to plan is planning to fail. Healthcare facilities of all
types and levels of care must maintain preparedness for a
myriad of emergencies – fire, hurricanes, floods, tornados,
earthquakes, and even active shooters. Over 2.4 million
American seniors live in special senior care facilities – 31,000
are assisted living (Hyer, 2013). Every such facility should
have a documented plan for how they will respond in the event
of an emergency. By most state’s laws, that emergency plan
should be filed with and approved by local authorities. Whether
facility management elect to evacuate or shelter in place will
depend on the circumstances.
Consider Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 tropical storm
that hit the southern gulf region of the U.S. and devasted the
city of New Orleans. The violent storm and ill-designed levees
left more than 80% of the city flooded for weeks (Wikipedia,
2020). In this case, the decision by many senior facilities to
shelter residents in place had deadly results.

3. Senior care residents have several unique needs that
compromise their safety in an emergency. First, many elderly
have mobility issues and may use walkers or wheelchairs.
Additionally, those with mental deficiencies may panic, be
unable to follow instructions,
or can’t comprehend what is happening. These combine to
make patient transport difficult if not impossible. For example,
in Texas, 23 residents of a nursing home died in a bus fire when
trying to be evacuated from the area (Castro, et al., 2008). A
formal criterion is needed by which to decide whether to leave
or stay in a dangerous situation. “The facility should train all
employees in emergency procedures when they begin to work in
the facility, periodically review procedures with existing staff,
and carryout unannounced staff drills using those procedures.
The facility should tailor its disaster plan to its geographic
location and the types of residents it serves” (Allen, 2004).
When plans are not documented and practiced, neither staff nor
residents know what to do at the height of the emergency and
the result is often loss of life.
Second, when a site loses power, critical equipment may not
function, and no lighting makes all operations difficult. During
the Katrina disaster, facilities that opted to shelter in place were
left with no way to escape flood waters, no electricity, and
eventually no food. Clearly, assisted living organizations
needed to foster stronger relationships with local emergency
personnel as well as the resident’s family for evacuation to be a
viable option. Lacking that, sheltering in place left them
vulnerable as well. Hindsight is 20/20. Many lessons have
been learned since Katrina – hopefully.
References
Allen, J. E. (2004). Assisted Living Administration: The

4. Knowledge Base, Second Edition: Vol.
2nd ed. Springer Publishing Company.
Brown, L. M., Christensen, J. J., Ialynytchev, A., Thomas, K.
S., Frahm, K. A., & Hyer, K.
(2015). Experiences of assisted living facility staff in
evacuating and sheltering residents
during hurricanes: Research and reviews research and reviews.
Current Psychology
34
(3), 506-514.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.libauth.purdueglobal.edu/10.1007/s12144-
015-
9361-7
Castro C, Persson D, Bergstrom N, & Cron S. (2008). Surviving
the storms: emergency
preparedness in Texas nursing facilities and assisted living
facilities.
Journal of
Gerontological Nursing
,
34
(8), 9–16. Retrieved from
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libauth.purdueglobal.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=
105647698&site=eds-

5. live.
Hyer, K. (2013). For long-term care, readiness gaps abound.
Health Progress (Saint Louis,
Mo.)
,
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(6), 42–49. Retrieved from
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.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mdc&AN=24308120&site=eds-
live.
Hurricane Katrina. (2020, April 16). Retrieved April 16, 2020,
retrieved from httpc://en.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina