Tri-parishes nursing homes onboard with state’s storm evacuation plans

Emergency preparedness plans for each of the Tri-parishes’ nursing homes have been reviewed and approved by the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) in accordance to with new regulations.

In a survey conducted earlier this summer, two-thirds of nursing homes in Louisiana’s 12 lowest-lying parishes hadn’t worked out the contracts and supplies necessary to either evacuate their residents or “shelter in place” during an emergency, according to state officials.

Since then, all 72 unprepared nursing homes in Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Terrebonne and Vermilion, have worked out the kinks in their plans and are now in compliance with regulations handed down by the DHH, according to state officials.

“It is very labor intensive to load the elderly on buses,” said Louisiana Nursing Home Association Executive Director Joseph Donchess. “We learned that during the storms last year.”

Legislation passed earlier this year requires annual emergency preparedness plans from nursing homes to be reviewed by the DHH by April of next year. Formerly, plans had to be submitted to parish Emergency Preparedness Offices, which could only review the plans and make suggestions, not enforce any regulations.

Since the legislation does not take effect until 2007, DHH enacted a set of emergency rules in June to prepare nursing homes for the hurricane season.

“Our priority is reviewing the plans of homes at risk,” said DHH Secretary Fred Cerise. “ We have begun working with the nursing homes in these areas to get them thinking about changes that need to be made in their plans and how to better determine when to evacuate if a storm is approaching.”

Nursing homes in Louisiana’s 22 parishes most vulnerable to hurricanes n including Lafourche, St. Mary and Terrebonne n were required to submit their emergency preparedness plans to DHH for review by Aug. 1.

“The review of nursing home emergency evacuation plans demonstrates our strong commitment to the safety of some Louisiana’s most vulnerable citizens, our elderly,” Gov. Kathleen Blanco said in a press release. “We fully expect all facilities charged with citizens safety to meet their responsibilities and I am please to see that months of hard work, oversight and dialogue have led to full compliance today.”

Another provision of the new regulations is the state’s role as a safety net if a nursing home’s plan fails during the time of the storm.

“We have and have had an emergency preparedness plan that meets and exceed pretty much every single critiria,” Acadian Manor Administrator Phillip Maxwell said.

Emergency preparedness plans in place when Hurricane Katrina Hit on Aug. 29 ran into problems as buses and other transportation services didn’t arrive and nursing home employees abandoned residents.

An estimated 70 nursing home patients died at 13 facilities during or in the days after Katrina hit.

Justin Martin can be reached at (985) 876-3008 or justin@tri-parishtimes.com.