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: dem@kitsapdem.org

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.