Weather events: Providers spare no effort

YARMOUTH, Maine – With weather events top of mind, the majority of HME providers report updating their disaster preparedness plans every year (60%) and sharing those plans within their local health care systems (60%), according to the results of a recent HME Newspoll. 

The majority of providers also report increasing their supply of oxygen and other equipment and supplies ahead of a weather event (70%). 

“We always maintain roughly 10 times as much oxygen as we use in a typical month,” wrote one respondent. “Most of our patients have at least an eight-hour supply of backup tanks, and our high-liter flow patients are contacted in advance of weather events.” 

The poll follows two devastating hurricanes in the Southeast in September and October. It also follows a previous HME Newspoll earlier this year that showed about 76% of respondents report being in an area affected by weather events and, of those, about 64% report being affected by these events more frequently. 

Respondents noted that while accrediting organizations require providers to have a disaster preparedness plan in place, state governments may have more specific requirements. In Florida, for example, providers must update their Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan each year and work with their local health departments to manage patients during a weather event. 

“We notify all of our oxygen patients yearly, at the beginning of the hurricane season, of our procedures before, during and after an emergency is declared,” wrote Earl Ward of Ward Medical Services in St. Augustine, Fla. “We send each one a copy of their most current prescription, along with a registration form for the local special needs shelter. We forward each returned registration form to the local emergency operations center and follow up with patients, as needed.” 

While the majority of respondents report activating their disaster preparedness plans a few days prior to a weather event (60%), for some respondents, it’s a full-time mindset that includes keeping delivery vehicles topped off with gas at all times and purchasing larger tanks for patients with higher liter flows. 

“(We are) stockpiling a year’s supply of most respiratory supplies and (have) increased our inventory of bent metal,” wrote one respondent. “(We also) keep a digital, as well as paper, log of oxygen/ventilator patients with their name, address, phone numbers, liter flow, five- or 10-liter concentrator and manufacturer. (We) educate our staff to handle communication problems if conventional means are not available, assuring that all oxygen patients have enough tanks to get into a hospital or shelter.”