Mr and Mrs. Longfoot have been mamed for 52 years. They both have medical conditions that require either refingeratwe of medication or electricity to power medical devices. th has been a while sinoc thicy visited family down South, so they decided to go on a road trip. Traveling, in general, required much logistical planning Considering it was winter, they werc certain they wouldn' be dealing with any inclement heat-related weather, as they had in the past. "Turn that up, tum that up," repeated Nt. Longfoot. Mrs. Longfoot reached for the TV rempte to turn up the volume on the local ten oclock news. Breaking Nows appeared across the sereen in bold red letters. Mr Longfoot gasped. "Oh no, what now?" The deep South was headed for a deep freeze. The meteorologist sounded as worried as he would when a heat wave or hurricane was coming This could com. plicate things. Mrs Longloo had long sulfered from skep apnea and her CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine required electricity to deliver oxygen to her while slecping. Mr. Longfoot required insulin for his diabetes. Insulin requires refrigeration, and on top of that. Aluctuation in temperatures can cause it to lose eflectiveness. The local news was waming ciizens that freezing rain coeald canse power lines to break. Jawing folks without power, heat, or water. They hud a hatory with health services support in the South, and it wasn' a good one. Their experience was that when severe weather rolicd in, the infrastructure would fail. They knew this was no exception and Kaving wasn't an option at this point. The following aight they woke up shivering, the power had gone out. They were seaying at their sons house, and he informed them that, not only was the prwer out, but the pipes were also frozen as well "That was quicke" grumbled Mr. Longfoot. 'I expected that ne would at lext make it through the night belore this happened: They looked aruend at each other, their clectric powered medical maxhines, and the relingerator they relied on to survive and wondered what they were going to do At home, in times like this, they could call their home health service and request back up power and coolers. They had no such plan in the South. They called every hotel in the large urban city to try and find a place with power, heat, and water, as they learned they were now under a water boil warning on top of everything else. Eventually, they were able to secure a room, but it wasnt for a lew more days. Plus, they werent even sure of the road conditions to get there. Finding food was the nexa big hurdle. They had some, but nothing they could eat without cooking. By this point, every grocery store in the town was closed for several reasons including road conditions that kept employees from driving, lack of supplies, and loss of power. Most places couldnt even process cach transactions. Over the next three days, their situation escalated. Mrs. Longfoot slept up-right in a recliner to try and mitigate breathing.

1. Mr and Mrs. Longfoot have been mamed for 52 years. They both have medical conditions that
require either refingeratwe of medication or electricity to power medical devices. th has been a
while sinoc thicy visited family down South, so they decided to go on a road trip. Traveling, in
general, required much logistical planning Considering it was winter, they werc certain they
wouldn' be dealing with any inclement heat-related weather, as they had in the past. "Turn that
up, tum that up," repeated Nt. Longfoot. Mrs. Longfoot reached for the TV rempte to turn up the
volume on the local ten oclock news. Breaking Nows appeared across the sereen in bold red
letters. Mr Longfoot gasped. "Oh no, what now?" The deep South was headed for a deep freeze.
The meteorologist sounded as worried as he would when a heat wave or hurricane was coming
This could com. plicate things. Mrs Longloo had long sulfered from skep apnea and her CPAP
(continuous positive airway pressure) machine required electricity to deliver oxygen to her while
slecping. Mr. Longfoot required insulin for his diabetes. Insulin requires refrigeration, and on top
of that. Aluctuation in temperatures can cause it to lose eflectiveness. The local news was
waming ciizens that freezing rain coeald canse power lines to break. Jawing folks without power,
heat, or water. They hud a hatory with health services support in the South, and it wasn' a good
one. Their experience was that when severe weather rolicd in, the infrastructure would fail. They
knew this was no exception and Kaving wasn't an option at this point. The following aight they
woke up shivering, the power had gone out. They were seaying at their sons house, and he
informed them that, not only was the prwer out, but the pipes were also frozen as well "That was
quicke" grumbled Mr. Longfoot. 'I expected that ne would at lext make it through the night
belore this happened: They looked aruend at each other, their clectric powered medical
maxhines, and the relingerator they relied on to survive and wondered what they were going to
do At home, in times like this, they could call their home health service and request back up
power and coolers. They had no such plan in the South. They called every hotel in the large
urban city to try and find a place with power, heat, and water, as they learned they were now
under a water boil warning on top of everything else. Eventually, they were able to secure a
room, but it wasnt for a lew more days. Plus, they werent even sure of the road conditions to get
there. Finding food was the nexa big hurdle. They had some, but nothing they could eat without
cooking. By this point, every grocery store in the town was closed for several reasons including
road conditions that kept employees from driving, lack of supplies, and loss of power. Most
places couldnt even process cach transactions. Over the next three days, their situation escalated.
Mrs. Longfoot slept up-right in a recliner to try and mitigate breathing without her CPAP
machine. Mr. Longfoot continued the use of his insulin, bet he was now suffering from
complications that arise from improper sorage. The supply chain had broken down, and ges
stations didnt have enough supply to kecp up with demand. They still couldnt even try to head
home. They were trapped for a week before being able to travel back North. and it took over 30
days for their resulting medical complications to be sorted out. Discussion Questions 1. What is
going on in this case? 2. Identify the main public health concerns in this case. 3. What are three
factors contributing to these problems? 4. Provide three possible solutions to two problems you
identified. 5. Whose responsibility is it to address these types of issues when an entire large
urban city is affected? Additional Resources Buchbinder, S. B. Shanks, N. H, & Kite, B. J
(2021). Introduction wo hrath cair managament (tah ed.). Jones 68 Baniet Larning Valltanou, N,
G, Geladar, E. V. Kounatidis, D, Geladari, C , V , Stratigou, T, Dourakis, S. P. Andradis, E, A,
& Dalamaga, M. (2021). Dibetes mellirus in the era of climate chunge: Diakrios & Mrablwiom,
47(4), 101205.