FHCA Launches Long Term Care Emergency Preparedness Resource Website

www.LTCprepare will provide news and information for disaster preparation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 13, 2015
Contact: Kristen Knapp, APR
(850) 701-3530 or kknapp@fhca.org

Tallahassee, Fl. - Older residents in long term care centers are among the most vulnerable Floridians when natural disasters occur, and the Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) is launching a comprehensive preparedness website designed to help skilled nursing and post-acute care centers, as well as assisted living communities, meet the special challenges that can arise during emergencies.

FHCA member care centers work every day to meet the unique needs of older residents and recognize the greater challenges posed by natural disasters and other emergency situations. With that in mind, FHCA has identified resources to assist care centers as they prepare for critical situations. The one-stop preparedness website provides information to help care centers plan for emergencies and conduct training exercises that will help them during response and recovery.

“Planning and preparation are key to keeping our residents and staff safe,” said Joe Mitchell, president of Florida Health Care Association. “FHCA has a proven history of effectively supporting emergency preparedness and planning throughout the long term care community. Our goal with this new resource is to keep skilled nursing centers and assisted living facilities informed, up to date and disaster-ready.”

The website, www.LTCprepare.org, will provide resources for developing an emergency plan and keeping those who care for older residents informed about national and state disasters. An easy-to-use search engine will help website users find helpful information on specific emergency preparation topics, as well as pose questions about preparedness resources.

www.LTCprepare.org is a collaborative project between FHCA and Emory University’s Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center, through the assistance of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Site input was also provided by the Florida Department of Health's Bureau of Preparedness and Response, as well as long term care professionals from across Florida. The project mission is to help skilled nursing center and assisted living professionals effectively prepare in case of a crisis.

For more information about the LTC Emergency Preparedness Portal, contact April Henkel at ahenkel@fhca.org.

About Florida Health Care Association
Florida Health Care Association is a federation that serves almost 1,000 members and represents more than 500 long term care facilities that provide skilled nursing, post-acute and sub-acute care, short-term rehab, assisted living and other services to the frail elderly and individuals with disabilities in Florida. The mission of FHCA is to advance the quality of services, image, professional development and financial stability of its members. As Florida's first and largest advocacy organization for long term care providers and the elderly they serve, the Association has worked diligently since 1954 to assist its members with continuously improving quality of care and quality of life for the state’s growing elder care population. For more information about Florida Health Care Association, visit [url=http://www.fhca.org]http://www.fhca.org[/url].  

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