FHCA Launches New Hurricane Webpage to Keep Residents, Families and Emergency Partners Informed on Long Term Care Emergency Preparedness

Tallahassee, Fla. – To help keep residents and their families informed during hurricane season, the Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) today announced the launch of its new hurricane preparedness webpage. The webpage details the year-round proactive efforts of FHCA’s member centers and features a detailed timeline of long term care centers’ preparation, response, and recovery efforts.

“For our association and its members, emergency preparation is a year-round priority,” said FHCA CEO Emmett Reed. “This hurricane preparedness webpage is designed to help the public understand our members’ commitment to readiness and response when it comes to keeping their residents and staff safe during severe weather, and to keeping families informed about their loved ones. By working together and planning ahead, we’re helping to protect some of our state’s most vulnerable citizens when it matters most.” 

Providing quality care for Florida’s seniors includes ensuring that their safety and well-being remain a priority during hurricanes and other natural disasters. FHCA member centers develop a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) that includes strict hurricane preparedness protocols that are followed to keep residents safe before, during, and after a storm. 

The new hurricane preparedness webpage features key information about training and emergency plans, evacuation and shelter-in-place procedures, generator preparation, a five-day storm readiness timeline, and how centers communicate with families and other key stakeholders during emergency situations. It also includes information about transfer trauma and the important aspect of trauma-informed care during emergencies, given the vulnerability of residents in long term care settings.

In addition to the new hurricane webpage, FHCA is hosting a series of three regional emergency preparedness roundtables with long term care leaders, state agencies, community partners, and county emergency managers to discuss lessons learned from the 2024 season, process improvements for center evacuations and sheltering-in-place and to strengthen the collaboration among providers, regulators and emergency management. 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 6, 2025

PRESS CONTACT:
Kristen Knapp, APR
850-510-4389 or kknapp@fhca.org