Is your adult residential care facility ready for extreme weather? From scorching temperatures to fires and floods, extreme weather may put your residents at risk. With preparation and training, you can keep your residents safe.
Seniors Are Particularly Vulnerable
People of any age may suffer serious health problems due to extreme temperatures, but older adults are particularly vulnerable.
The CDC says that adults over the age of 65 are prone to heat-related health issues and that chronic conditions and prescriptions may hinder their ability to manage high temperatures. Research from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias may have an increased risk of hospitalization due to extreme heat. Overexposure to heat may lead to heat exhaustion, heat stroke, or even death.
Cold weather is also a threat. According to the National Institute of Aging, older adults may be less aware that their bodies are becoming too cold due to changes that come with aging. Plus, conditions like diabetes, arthritis, thyroid conditions, and Parkinson’s disease may make it harder to stay warm. As a result, older adults are susceptible to frostbite and hypothermia. Falls on snowy and icy surfaces are another risk.
Recent lawsuits show that extreme temperatures can be fatal for residents and that adult residential care facilities may be held liable in temperature-related scenarios. For example:
- An assisted living facility in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has to pay $4 million in a lawsuit involving a resident who froze to death. According to FOX 6, the resident had dementia and wandered outside, but staff didn’t notice for several hours.
- A senior care facility in Bend, Oregon, is being sued for $17 million in damages after a resident died after being left outside in the sun on a hot August day. According to Willamette Week, the temperature was nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit, but the woman was wearing a heavy fleece top, a sweater, and long pants.
To keep residents safe, it’s important to monitor them and ensure they are dressed appropriately and staying hydrated. If residents are particularly vulnerable – for example, due to dementia or other health conditions, note it in their records to alert staff members to take necessary precautions. You should also train staff on how to recognize the signs of heat- and cold-related illness and how to respond.
Planning for Resident Evacuation
Many times, the safest place for residents is inside the facility. However, sometimes the facility becomes unsafe, and residents need to be evacuated. This could be due to many reasons including an encroaching wildfire or tsunami threat, a flood, a storm, or even a faulty HVAC system that makes the inside temperature unsafe.
Adult residential care operators are responsible for keeping their residents safe, which includes organizing evacuations when necessary. Failure to do so could result in harm to residents as well as liability for the facility.
Insurance Journal reports that seven nursing homes in Louisiana have agreed to pay nearly $9 million to settle lawsuits involving the handling of evacuations during Hurricane Ida in 2021. The residents were moved to a crowded warehouse that was poorly suited for their needs to ride out the storm.
Evacuating a residential care facility is no easy task, which is why it requires advance planning. Consider:
- What types of emergencies are possible? What type of action will each require?
- When will you evacuate? Monitor the weather and local evacuation orders.
- Where will you evacuate? Identify several places where you could take residents if necessary.
- How will you evacuate? Plan how you will transport residents, including residents with special medical needs.
- How will you communicate? Consider how you will stay in contact with staff as well as family members of residents, keeping in mind that you might not have access to your onsite computer system or files.
A written emergency plan is the best way to prepare. Your plan should include who is in charge of various tasks, and your staff members should know what they are required to do. Emergency drills help everyone prepare.
Also make sure your emergency plan complies with all relevant laws. Your state may have specific requirements for emergency preparedness. For example, Oregon state law requires residential care and assisted living facilities to maintain an emergency preparedness plan that includes certain elements.
Are You Insured?
While prevention is always best, some events are outside of your control. That’s why it’s also important to maintain residential care facility property and liability insurance. Tangram provides adult residential care insurance through the Personal Care & Assisted Living Insurance Center (PCALIC). Learn more.
This Article is brought to you by Tangram Insurance Services.
