Caregivers’ top priority is resident safety
Before Florida ever faced the wrath of Hurricane Irma, many nursing homes and assisted living facilities along the east coast took necessary steps to ensure the protection of our frail residents, including extensive emergency preparedness training and planning, inspired by our passion and commitment for keeping those under our care safe from harm.
As Irma ravaged large swaths of Florida, caregivers stayed at their posts through long hours, regularly checking on residents to make sure their needs were being met. Even before then, as Irma approached, the long-term care profession kept a close watch on conditions at our centers and reviewed evacuation plans in case our residents needed to be moved to other shelter locations.
Following the unimaginable tragedy arising at a single Hollywood Hills facility — one that is not representative of the larger long term care profession — Gov. Rick Scott and Florida lawmakers are pushing for even greater safety measures to protect care center residents. We applaud them for bringing disaster readiness for nursing centers to the forefront of everyone’s mind.
In our profession, the well-being of our residents and the emergency planning that ensures their safety has been and always will be our top priority. Eighty-two percent of Florida’s nursing centers are members of Florida Health Care Association, and together we work hard to make sure our centers have the resources in place to deal with emergencies.
A recent survey by Emory University shows that 94 percent of Florida nursing centers have regular communications with local emergency management agencies to discuss emergency preparedness. Further, 88 percent discuss emergency preparedness with their residents, while 85 percent share emergency preparedness policies with residents’ families. These numbers reflect our profession’s awareness of the importance of emergency preparedness training and planning and our commitment to doing what is best for our residents.
Throughout the preparations for and response to Irma, emergency procedures were successfully implemented throughout the care profession, diligently maintaining the well-being of thousands of residents. The apparent terrible inaction at Hollywood Hills, which was not a member of FHCA, should not be allowed to tarnish the hard work and dedication displayed at hundreds of exceptional care centers across the state.
The passion and compassion our professionals feel for the residents of our care centers continually pushes us to excel, and the tragedy in Hollywood Hills will serve as further impetus behind our ongoing efforts to protect our residents’ health, safety and wellbeing. They deserve nothing less.
Gary Krulewitz is executive director of Renaissance Health and Rehabilitation Center in West Palm Beach and the Region I vice president of the Florida Health Care Association.