Strengthening Vulnerable
Populations Through
Preparedness
APC Roadshow
Orlando, FL
July 27-28, 2009
Goal
• At the end of this APC session
participants will be able to assist
vulnerable populations in their
community by using the tools and
resources described.
Presentation Objectives
• Describe the process Montgomery County
went through to help prepare its
vulnerable populations
• List at least two tools and/or resources
identified in the presentation.
• Identify how one of the tools and/or
resources in the presentation can be used
in your community.
Multi-cultural Communication
Group Activity
Montgomery County
Process
Why Prepare Vulnerable
Populations?
• Katrina
Pictures from: www.cfcnca.org, katrinapictures.blogspot.com
Prior to Katrina vulnerable populations
were susceptible to:
• Poor health
conditions (chronic)
• Unemployment
• Lack of insurance
(housing, health)
• Lack of
transportation
• Dependency on
social and health
services
• Inequity or
discrimination
(social, racial,
economic,
geographic)*
*The Brookings Institution, Metropolitan Policy Program. New Orleans After the Storm:
Lessons from the Past, a Plan for the Future. October 2005.
Basic Demographics
• 497 squares
miles next to
Washington D.C
• 931,000 persons
• Affluent
• Poverty level
• High Cost of
Living
• 125 different
languages
Definition of Vulnerable
Populations
• Determined by your own population
within your community and what
populations will be most at-risk
during an emergency event.
Montgomery County’s
Vulnerable Populations
• Limited English
Proficiency
• Economically
disadvantaged
• Isolated from the
community
• Physically or mentally
challenged
• Pregnant Women
• Children
• Homeless
• Persons with chronic
conditions
• Seniors
• Minority groups
Identifying Gatekeepers (i.e., community health
nurses, home health aides, Latino Health
Promoters, public/private agencies)
Montgomery County
Emergency Preparedness • Aging and Disability
• Police
and Response Vulnerable
• Volunteer Center
Populations Committee
County Offices of:
• PH Emergency Preparedness
• Homeland Security
• Community Affairs
• Senior Health Promotion
• Health Promoter Programs
• Community groups,
advocacy groups, hospitals,
assisted living facilities,
group homes, nursing
homes, and faith
communities
GATEKEEPERS TO TARGET POPULATION:
Persons who are Blind
American Council of the Blind
1155 15th Street, NW, Suite 1004
Washington, DC 20005
202-467-5081 (V)
202-467-5085 (FAX)
info@acb.org
www.acb.org
American Federation of the Blind
Governmental Relation Group
820 First Street, NE, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20002
202-408-0200 (V)
202-408-8172 (V)
202-289-7880 FAX)
afbgov@aft.net
www.afb.org
Newsline for the Blind
1-888-882-1629
nfbnewsline@nfb.org
Newsline is a free 24-hour nationwide
telephone service for people who are blind,
visually impaired and/or unable to read a
printed newspaper.
Maryland School for the Blind
3501 Taylor Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21236
410-444-5000 (V)
410-319-5701 (FAX)
info@mdschblind.org
www.mdschblind.org
National Federation of the Blind
Montgomery County Chapter
11923 Parklawn Drive, Suite 104
Rockville, MD 20852
Contact: Debbie Brown
301-881-1892 (V-Home)
202-707-0503 (V-Work)
no e-mail address
National Federation of the Blind
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-659-9314 (V)
410-685-5653 (FAX)
Linda J. McCarty
Director of Public Relations
lmccarty@nfb.org
Patricia A. Maurer
Director of Community Relations
communityrelations@nfb.org
www.nfb.org
National Federation of the Blind
of Maryland
9013 Nelson Way
Columbia, MD 21045
410-715-9596 (V-Home)
left voicemail for e-mail address
Services for the Visually Impaired
8720 Georgia Avenue, Suite 210
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-589-0894 (V)
301-589-7281 (FAX)
info@servicesvi.org
www.servicesvi.org
BLIND PERSONS
Metropolitan Washington Ear, Inc.
35 University Blvd. East
Silver Spring, MD 20901
301-681-6636 (V)
301-681-5227 (FAX)
information@washear.org
www.washear.org
Radio, reading and information
service.
Tools/Resources
• Plan to Be Safe Campaign
– Emergency Preparedness Checklist for Case
Management and Home Care Services
• Emergency Preparedness Curriculum for
Latino Health Promoters
• Emergency Preparedness Checklist for
Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities,
and Group Homes
• Emergency Response Planning for Child
Care Providers
Plan to Be Safe Campaign
The Need
• Simple
• Not too many words (low literacy and
multiple languages)
• Attractive
• Cost effective
• Need to encourage people to plan
(avoid what happened in Katrina)
Plan to Be Safe Campaign
Development
• Initially wanted to
target seniors
• Graphic Artist
• Focus group of
department of
recreation staff with
seniors
Washington Post 2-1-07 Thrasher
Washington Post 2-1-07 Thrasher
Plan to Be Safe Campaign
Materials
Plan to Be Safe Flipchart
Plan to Be Safe Training of
Employees
Video
Presentation
Frederick & Anne Arundel Counties, MD
Plan 9 Hawaii
Plan 9 Billboard
Local Hospital-Plan 9
Integration into County and
Community Programs
• County Programs
– Aging and Disability
– Department of Recreation
– Community Health Nurses-Pregnant women
and families with young children
– Health Promoters (lay-health community
leaders)
– Health Clinics (HIV, STD, TB)
• Community Programs
– Faith Community Nurses
– Home Health Agencies
– Home Visiting Programs
Case Management Tool
Case Management Evaluation
• Emergency Preparedness Checklist for
Case Management and Home Care
Services (which includes Plan to Be Safe
messages).
• Aging and Disability Program (Plan 9
supplies)
– Baseline: 50% had a 3-day supply of 5 or
more items.
– 30 day: 62.5% had a 3-day supply of 5 or
more items
– 90 day: 90.6% had a 3-day supply of 5 or
more items
Latino Health Promoter
Curriculum
• Purpose: To train
promotores de
salud in Public
Health Emergency
Preparedness
• 3-Day training
• Includes Plan to Be
Safe tools
Latino Health Promoter
Curriculum-Focus Groups: Results
• Participants had difficulty defining
“emergency”
• Wide range of perceived personal
emergency risks
• Few participants reported receiving
information on EP
• Concern with government’s readiness
• Most participants did not have an EP plan
• Immigration identified as a current
emergency
Focus Groups: Results
• Reported preferences for receiving
information:
– Courses or seminars
– TV or radio programs
– Pamphlets, flyers, or manuals
– Participating in simulations or
practice
Latino Health Promoters
Evaluation
• Emergency Preparedness in the Latino
Community: Training Manual for Health
Promoters
– Reported emergency preparedness
practices increased, to the point where
all participants reported having talked
with their families about emergencies
and having an emergency plan after the
third session.
Checklist for Nursing Homes, Assisted
Living Facilities, and Group Homes
• Easy to use
checklist format
• Ensure a well
prepared health
care facility
Nursing Home Checklist
Evaluation
• Montgomery County and State of
Maryland have incorporated the
checklist into its annual quality-ofcare surveys of nursing homes and
large assisted living facilities
• Many have updated their emergency
plans, replaced generators, included
shelter-in-place strategies.
Emergency Response Planning for
Child Care Providers
• Collaborative tool with
child care and public
health
• Designed to plan and
prepare child care
providers for
emergency events and
to assist in the recovery
effort by helping
children cope with the
traumatic event.
• A train-the-trainer
guide is included.
Child Care Evaluation
• Developed and tested with child care
providers (family and center)
• State of Maryland has used it as a
model for licensure requirements for
family child care providers
• Continues to be improved-Fall 2009
COOP training module
Additional Tools/Resources
Pan Flu & Us-Materials
• Toolkit available for
LHDs or others to
host a similar
conference in their
locality
• Materials online onlyin PDF, MS Word, and
MS Publisher
• First step in
relationship with
home care
Seattle-King County, WA APC
• Vulnerable Populations-Equity in
Emergency Response: Public
Health Planning for Vulnerable
Populations
• No Ordinary Flu Comic Book,
Multiple languages
• www.advancepracticetoolkits.com
Socioeconomic and Racial/Ethnic
Activity
Contact Information
Rachel Abbey
and
Betsy Rebert
Montgomeryapc@montgomerycountymd.gov
All tools and resources mentioned in this
presentation can be found at:
www.montgomerycountymd.gov/apc
Or NACCHO Toolbox at:
www.naccho.org/toolbox