Arkansas is no stranger to natural disasters. This spring, the Arkansas River washed over its banks from Fort Smith to the Mississippi River. It breached the levees in Dardanelle. Fortunately, the damage was contained.
The population most at risk in a natural disaster isn't our children, but our seniors, and the most vulnerable reside in long-term care facilities like the Dardanelle Nursing and Rehabilitation Center along Arkansas 7.
Each September, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security marks National Preparedness Month, a time for local governments, businesses and families to consider their plans. Because disaster isn't an "if" but a "when." Preparedness is a national priority.
When the waters climbed high in Kansas and the magnitude of the impending flood here became predictable, the Dardanelle Nursing and Rehabilitation Center's leadership didn't hesitate to implement its disaster plan. State and federal authorities gave wait-and-see orders, but that didn't influence this team of professionals.
All 96 residents and their families were notified that evacuation had been affected. The center coordinated with other nursing centers in the region for placement--other centers who opened their doors, ready, willing, and prepared for this.
Over the course of three days in late May, staff moved patients carefully out of the center with their belongings as well as special care bags. The center contracted with non-emergency transportation and coordinated with other facilities nearby--care centers living out their missions of helping and serving residents anywhere. All 96 residents were placed in three tiers by mobility and acuity, and the most infirm were moved on the first day.
It was the largest-scale evacuation of its kind in the state, and it was executed flawlessly.
Over the last decade, preparedness has become so much more sophisticated. Plans are policy. They contain redundancies. The full spectrum of communications technology is marshalled--landline and wireless devices, Internet and user-directed platforms, Voice over Internet (VoIP) and GPS location services.
Electronic health records have made a huge difference in the ease with which new facilities can intake patients and residents, and it played a huge role in the speed and seamlessness during this evacuation.
Arkansas should be proud. Years ago, the state required long-term care facilities to invest in facility backup generators. For many rural counties throughout the state, these nursing facilities are the chief health-care access point for miles. We also have stores of food, water, pharmacological and some medical supplies should a center be forced to shelter in place.
The Arkansas Health Care Association has a partnership with the Arkansas Department of Health for training facilities on preparedness. We practice disaster situations.
The Dardanelle Nursing and Rehabilitation Center residents suffered no injuries, no dire changes in medical status. The staff didn't just carry out the evacuation but bivouacked at the temporary residences so that their patients had familiar faces caring for their needs.
That's a comfort born of a commitment greater than employment alone.
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Rachel Bunch is executive director of the Arkansas Health Care Association, the state's largest organization of licensed long-term care centers. To see a snapshot of Arkansas' historic disaster declarations going back more than 60 years, including totals by year, type, peak month and disasters by county, visit FEMA's interactive tool at tinyurl.com/femastats.
Editorial on 09/20/2019