RESOLUTION ON SAFEGUARDING LONG-TERM CARE CONSUMERS DURING A
LARGE SCALE EMERGENCY
WHEREAS Hurricane Katrina had a devastating impact on New Orleans
and other communities throughout Louisiana and Mississippi; and
WHEREAS the lack of adequate preplanning and infrastructure to protect
these communities greatly compounded the hurricane’s toll in the region;
and
WHEREAS the inability to mount an effective response to this emergency
led to many unnecessary deaths and much unnecessary suffering; and
WHEREAS the most vulnerable members of these communities – the poor
and the aged - were especially victimized by these circumstances and
bore the brunt of the tragic outcome; and
WHEREAS reports have indicated that evacuation buses never came to
many nursing home residences to rescue imperiled residents; and
WHEREAS numerous residents who were transported away from danger
were imperiled and suffered while in route to other states due to
insufficient safety measures; and
WHEREAS many nursing home residents were utterly abandoned, left
behind to face a horrifying death; and
WHEREAS there are numerous reports of suffering and neglect of the frail
aged and disabled in the major evacuee centers in New Orleans; and
WHEREAS neither the requirement for nursing homes to have an
emergency evacuation plan in place nor four years of federal planning to
safeguard American citizens faced with a large scale emergency
prevented this tragic result for our most vulnerable citizens;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT Congress hold investigatory
hearings into the abandonment of so many elderly and disabled and the
overall failure to safeguard the most vulnerable members of the
communities impacted by Hurricane Katrina; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the federal government take immediate
steps to support those who lived in nursing homes where Katrina struck
and those who now need nursing home care due to Katrina’s impact.
These actions should include: 100% federal Medicaid matching funds for
nursing home care and other long-term care services for those affected
by the hurricane, streamlined Medicaid application procedures for
evacuees who need long-term care and for nursing home staff who have
no medical coverage, and appropriate action necessary to ensure that
everyone who will be eligible for the forthcoming Medicaid Part D
pharmaceutical benefit receives all the medication they need and are
not penalized or put at risk as a result of this catastrophe; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT state and federal governments develop
coordinated and comprehensive emergency plans that include elderly
and disabled long term care consumers and other vulnerable
populations. Communication systems and evacuation plans must be in
place before tragedy strikes again, whether it is in the form of a natural
disaster or terrorism.