ToallCanonHospicePatientsandFamilies
Wearenowenteringintothe2015hurricaneseason.Pleasereview
thefollowinginformationandbesureyouarepreparedforany
impendingemergencies.
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YOURPERSONALEMERGENCYPLAN
Hurricanepreparationforhospicepatientsandtheircaregiverscanpresentspecialchallenges.
Hopefullythisletterwilladdressmostofyourconcerns.
Manyhospicepatientsandtheirfamilieshaveexperiencedseverestormsinthepastandhavesurvived
thedamageandlossofpropertythathasoccurredduringprevioushurricaneseasons.Itisfromthese
lessonsthatwenowturnourattentiontotheneedtoPREPAREourhospicepatientsandtheir
caregiversforsuchemergencies.
Manyemergencies,otherthanhurricanes,cantouchourliveseachday.Evenasimplewatermain
breakortemporarypoweroutagecanbeamajoremergencyifyouarenotprepared.
STOCKYOURHOME
Itisagoodideatostockasupplyoffood,waterandsuppliesforanemergency.Itisusually
recommendedtohaveatleastoneweek’sworthofsuppliesonhand.
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WATER
Eachperson’sneedforwatervaries,dependingonage,physicalcondition,andtimeoftheyear.The
averagepersonneedsatleasttwoquartsofwaterorotherliquidtodrinkperday,butmorewouldbe
better.Alsokeepacoupleofgallonsonhandforsanitarypurposes.Storewaterinplastic,airtight
containersandreplaceeverytwomonthstobesureitispure.
FOOD
Suppliesshouldincludeenoughnonperishable,high-energyfoodstofeedyouandyourfamilyforupto
sevendays.Youmaybestrandedinyourhomeforseveraldaysorlocalstoresmayrunlowonsupplies.
Also,ifyouactuallyhavetoevacuate,itishelpfultotakeasmuchnon-perishablefoodasyoucancarry.
SuggestedFoods:
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Wholedrymilk
Cannedfruitjuices
Cannedmeatsandfish(tuna,Viennasausageorcannedham)
Meatsubstitutes,likebeansandnuts
Peanutbutter
DriedFruits
Drycereals,breadandcrackers
Granolabarsorcookies
Anyspecialdietaryneeds
DISASTERKIT
Awell-stockeddisasterkitcansaveuntoldhardshipsinanemergencysituation.Considergatheringthe
followingitemstoensureyourbasiccomfortandwell-being.
SuggestedSuppliesandEquipment:
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Batteryoperatedradiowithweatherband
First-aidkit
Flashlight
Blanketsorsleepingbags
Paperplatesandutensils,includingabottleandacanopener
Toiletryarticlesandsanitaryitems
Extrabatteries
Otheritemsrelatedtothedailycareofthehospicepatient
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MEDICINEANDMEDICALSUPPLIES
Itisveryimportanttokeepanadequatesupplyofanymedicinesyoutake.Ifyouarestrandedinyour
home,orevacuateoutofyourhome,youmaynotbeabletogetmoremedicationeasily.Wewillmake
sureyouhaveatleasttwoweeksofmedicinewithyouduringhurricaneseason.ButitisVERY
IMPORTANTtoremembertotakeyourMEDICATIONBOTTLESwithyouifyouleavetheareaon
evacuation,notjustyourdailypillbox.Whenyouneedtorefillmedications(whereveryoumaybe)you
willneedyourmedicationbottlewiththenameofthepharmacy,orderingphysicianandspecific
medicationinstructions.Mostpharmaciesacrossthecountrywillbeabletohelpyouinanemergencyif
youhaveyourmedicationbottleswithyou.
PLANFOREVACUATION
Eventhoughyouhaveemergencysupplies,DONOTmakethemistakeofignoringtheorderto
evacuate.EVACUATEiflocalauthoritiestellyoutodoso,especiallyifyouliveinlow-lyingareasthat
easilyflood.
Uponadmissionyouradmitnursefilledouta“AtRisk”reportonyou.Thisformcontainsinformation
regardingtheplansyouandyourfamilyhaveforevacuation.
ITISVERYIMPORTANTFORCANONHOSPICETOHAVETHECONTACTINFORMATIONFOREACH
PATIENTSOTHATWECANKEEPINTOUCHWITHYOUTHOUGHOUTANYEMERGENCYEVACUATION
SITUATION.EMAILADDRESSES,TELEPHONENUMBERSOFYOUREVACUATIONDESTINATIONAND
CELLNUMBERSAREVERYHELPFULPIECESOFINFORMATIONTOSHAREWITHCANONHOSPICE!!!
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Planaheadtomakeevacuationeasier.
KeepCanonHospiceinformedofanychangesinyourevacuationplans.Wecannotassist
youifwecannotlocateyou.
Ifpossible,makeplansinadvancetostaywithfamilyorrelativeslivinginlandoronhigher
groundshouldyouneedtoevacuate.
Knowyourdestinationinadvance!
Plantherouteyouwilltaketoevacuate.PlantoleaveBEFORECONTRAFLOWiscalledto
avoidlongwaitsandextendedperiodsoftimeinthecar.
FORPATIENTSONOXYGEN
BringyourE-tankswithyoufortravelinthecarandpackyouroxygenconcentrator(theonethatplugs
intothewall)foruseonceyourreachyourdestination.Itisveryimportantthatoxygendependent
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patientsleaveEARLYtominimizetheamountoftimerequiredfortravel.RememberNOSMOKING
whenoxygenisinuse.
BEAWAREOFCHANGESINWEATHERCONDITIONS
Listentodailyweatherforecastsduringthehurricaneseason.Ashurricanesdevelop,theyare
monitoredcloselybytheNationalWeatherService.Thesereportscanbeeasilyfollowedonallthelocal
televisionandradiostations.
TheNationalWeatherServiceissuestwotypesofnoticesaboutapproachinghurricanes.
1) AHURRICANEWATCHmeansahurricanemaythreatencoastalandinlandarea,andthat
Hurricaneconditionsarearealpossibility.ItisaTIMETOPREPARE!!!
Whenawatchisissuedforyourareayoushould:
• Staytunedtoyourlocalstationsforthelatestweatherinformation.
• Makesureyouhavereviewedyourevacuationplanswithyournurseorsocialworker
• Gatheryouremergencysupplies.Makesureyourhomeissecure.Lawnandpatiofurniture
shouldbestoredawayinadvance.Garbagecans,gardentools,toys,signsandanumberof
harmlessitemscanbecomeflyingprojectilesinhurricanewinds.
• Gatherimportantpapersinyourhomesuchasbirthandmarriagecertificates,wills,
insurancepolicies,deeds,etc.Placetheminawaterproofcontainerwithyournonperishablefoodsupplyorinyoursafetydepositbox.
2) AHURRICANEWARNINGisissuedwhenahurricaneisexpectedtostrikewithin24hours.
Whenthiswarningisissuedyoushouldalreadybeoutoftheareaandsafelyatyour
destination.Rememberwithheavyrainsthatoftencomewiththesestorms,roadsfloodquickly
andcanquicklyblockroadways.
EVACUATIONTIME
Whenahurricanewatchiscalled,hospiceevacuationgoesintoaction.Themajorityofthe
patientsontheInpatientUnitareinacriticalstateandwillbeevacuatedalongwithsomeofthe
CanonHospiceStaff.PleaseknowthatthisevacuationDOESNOTincludeluxury
accommodations.Patientsareoftenonblow-upmattressonthefloorandwecannot
guaranteethatourevacuationsitewillhaveairconditioningorelectricity.
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TheLouisianaandMississippiHospiceandPalliativeCareOrganizationmakethefollowing
recommendation:
“The preference is that every patient seen by a hospice agency will evacuate with family or
friends. The patients requiring assistance from parish offices of emergency preparedness will
have to leave when the parish is ready to evacuate them, and go where the parish takes
them. Patients/families making their own plans will have choices; those depending on
government entities won’t have this luxury.”
The Department of Health and Hospitals states:
Your hospice agency will encourage patients and their families to follow their personal emergency
plans and instructions. Patients and their families should have the ultimate responsibility for
planning appropriately. In the case of childen, the parent(s) or guardian(s) have that
responsibility.
Wecaregreatlyaboutthesafetyofallofourpatients,butitisphysicallyimpossibletotakeall
patients(ontheinpatientunitandathome)withustoourplannedevacuationsite.
Patientsontheinpatientunitwillbeallowedtoleavewiththeirfamiliesandevacuatewith
them.Atthetimeofthestormwewillbecontactingorvisitingallhomepatientstogettheir
updatedevacuationplans.ThepreferredmethodofevacuationisALWAYSwithyourfamily.
Hurricaneevacuationisverydifficultonterminallyillpatientsandespeciallyonpatientswith
dementia.Unfamiliarsurroundingsandunfamiliarpeoplearenotagoodcombinationfor
comfort.
Ifapatientisathomeandisconsideredat-risk….thepatientmaybeabletoreceiveassistance
fromthedepartmentofemergencypreparedness.
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THEATRISKREGISTRY
Canon’semergencyplannowincludesregisteringallpatientswiththestate-wideAtRiskRegistry
Program.Buyregisteringwiththisprogram;theEmergencyOfficesinyourareaknowwhatassistance
youmayrequire.
At-Risk patients are defined as:
• Hospice patient living alone, unable to evacuate self
• Hospice patient living with caregiver (either mentally or physically) unable to evacuate
patient and self.
• Hospice patient/family without financial means to evacuate.
• Hospice patient/family refusing to evacuate.
The patient or patient representative must sign a Registry Release.
Please note…..Patients cannot be included in the Registry without a signed
Release.
OnceapatientisregisteredwiththeAtRiskRegistry,theirinformationwillbeforwardedtothe
EmergencyPreparednessoffice(EPO)intheParishinwhichtheyreside.Thiswillputthemin
lineforassistancewiththeEPOshouldevacuationberequired.ITISIMPORTANTTONOTE
THATWHENEVACUATIONASSITANCEISOFFEFRED,ITMUSTBEACCEPTEDATTHETIMEOF
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OFFERING.FAILURETOACCEPTEVACUATIONASSISTANCEWILLMEANTHATYOUWILLHAVE
TOEVACUATEONYOUROWN.
YourCanonnursewillaskyoutosignaconsenttoreleaseyourinformationtothecurrentstate
registryprograms.BothOrleansandJeffersonParishesnowrequireseparatenotificationof
residentswhomayrequireassistance.Thatnotificationwillbemadeforyouatyourrequest.
CanonHospiceInpatientunitinNewOrleanswillbeevacuatingtheinpatientunittothenorth
ofI-12.Allpatientswillbeevacuatedbyambulance.Wewillbecompletingourevacuation
beforeCONTRAFLOWBEGINS.Ifyourlovedonegoesonevacuationwithus,wewillreleasethe
locationtoyousoyourmayvisit.Wewillnotbeabletoprovidetransportationorshelterfor
hospicefamilies.Onceattheevacuationsitewewillallowonefamilymembertostaywiththe
patientbutweaskthatyoubringyourownbeddingandsupplies.
Ifyouareahomepatientandareevacuatingwithyourfamily,pleasebesuretopreparefor
appropriatetransportation.AtemporarybedsetupinthebackofanSUVorsedanisoftenthe
mostcomfortablemodeoftransportationforabedboundpatient.
AFTERTHEHURRICANE
Localauthoritieswillannouncewhenitissafetoreturntoyourhome.Staytunedintolocal
televisionandradiostationsforcurrentinformation.Besureyourhomeissafebeforeyou
return.Makesureelectricity,sewer,gasandwaterservicesareavailable!!
NotifyCanonHospiceassoonasyoureturnhomesowemayproperlyserviceyou.Wecanbe
reachedbyphoneat504-818-2723oryoumaycontactusbyemailat
[email protected](forNewOrleans)
[email protected](fortheNorthshore)
[email protected](forBatonRouge)
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