Planning for Kitsap County’s Vulnerable Population
Kitsap County 2009/10 Vulnerable Population Planning Steering Committee• AbidingHomeCare• AngelAdvocates• ComfortKeepers• Communitas• Gentiva• KitsapCountyAreaAgencyonAging• KitsapCountyDepartmentofEmergencyManagement• KitsapCountyHealthDistrict• KitsapHomeCareServices• KitsapMentalHealth• KitsapImmigrantAssistanceCenter
911 Carver St. • Bremerton, WA 98312 • 360.307.5870www.kitsapdem.org • e-mail: [email protected]
We want to partner with you! As a team we can prepare Kitsap’s Vulnerable
Population for any disaster1. JoinourVulnerablePopulationCommittee(meetingsareheldtwicea
year).2. Contactourofficeforhelp.Wehavetrainedstaffthatwillmeetwith
youatyourfacilitytohelpdevelopyouremergencyplan.3. Letusconductahazardhuntatyourworkplace.Togetherwecannot
onlyfindthehazardbutteachyouhowtomitigatethehazard.4. SignupforKCDEM’sAlertandWarningProgramto
getemergencynotificationsandmonthlypreparednesstips:www.kitsapdem.org(lookforthislogo).
Because you are the expert in working with your vulnerable clients, your organization has an important role when disaster strikes. Kitsap County Emergency Management needs you to:
Returntoworkafterdisasterstrikes.•DevelopasystemtoassureyourclientsareOK,before,during,andafteradisaster.•PlanjointlywithEmergencyManagementtodevelopplansandprocedurestobein•communicationwithusduringthedisaster.Youarenotalone!
Who Is Vulnerable?At-riskorhardtoreachindividualsthatmayrequirespecializedcommunicationsand/ortransportationduringanemergency.Specificallytheyare:
• Olderadultsoryoungchildren• Economicallydisadvantaged• Reliantonpublictransportation• Isolatedbycultureorreligion• Livinginorattendinglicensedfacilities• LimitedinEnglishproficiency• Peoplewithdisabilities• Sensoryimpairment
Are You Prepared? HistoryFor many years, Kitsap County Emergency Management (KCDEM) has beenworkingwithvulnerablepopulationproviderstoassurethattogetherwecanprovidebasichumanservicestoallnomatterhowdevastatingthedisaster.SinceHurricaneKatrina,KitsapCountyhasidentifiedtheneedtodomorerobustpreparationsandhereiswhatwedid.
Inearly2007,theKitsapCountyHealthCareCoalitionwasformedtoaddress•theareas’medicalneedsduringandfollowingacatastrophicevent.
Inlate2008,KCDEMpartneredwithKitsapCountyAreaAgencyonAgingto•assistinpreparingproviderswhoservethevulnerablepopulationtotakecareofthemselvesandtheirclients.
Andmostrecently,35organizationswhoservethevulnerablecametogetherto•begindevelopingthe“VulnerablePopulationEmergencyPreparednessPlan”.
Preparedness Steps for Your Organization1. Developanemergencyplan.2. Prepareyouremployeesforanyhazardthatmay
impactKitsapCounty.3. Assigneachemployeeanemergencyrole.4. Prepareclientstobeasselfsufficientaspossible.5.Prepareclients,tothebestoftheirability,forany
emergencyordisasterthatmayimpactKitsapCounty.
6.Developthecapabilitytoensurethesafetyofyourclients.
For more information, please visit our website:www.kitsapdem.org
The Vision:Byworkingcollaborativelywithcommunitypartners,KitsapCounty’sinitiativeensuresthatnoonegroupismoreimpactedthananotherinanemergency.
The Goal:Toassureaccesstopreparedness,responseand•recoveryinformationandservicesforthemostvulnerableandhardest-to-reachresidentsinKitsapCounty.Tobeachievedthroughdevelopingmutually•respectfulrelationshipswithvulnerablepopulationsandtheorganizationsthatservethem.
