Working Group

State of Hawaii Departments or Agencies

(alpha)

Department of Education (DOE)

Department of Health (DOH)

Department of Human Services (DHS)

Disability and Communication Access Board (DCAB)

Executive Office on Aging (EOA)

State Civil Defense (SCD)

State Council on Developmental Disabilities (DDC)

County Departments or Agencies

(alpha)

City and County of Honolulu, Department of Emergency Management

County of Hawaii, Civil Defense Agency

County of Kauai, Civil Defense Agency

County of Maui, Civil Defense Agency

Community Agencies

(alpha)

American Red Cross (ARC)

Healthcare Association of Hawaii

Agencies Representing Individuals with Disabilities

(alpha)

County of Hawaii, Mayor’s Committee on Persons with Disabilities

County of Kauai, Mayor’s Advisory Committee for Equal Access

County of Maui, Mayor’s Commission on Persons with Disabilities

Hawaii Centers for Independent Living

Hui Kupuna VIP

National Federation of the Blind

National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Hawaii Division

This document is available on the DCAB web site

www.hawaii.gov/health/dcab/

To request a large print or Braille copy

contact the Disability and Communication Access Board

at dcab@doh.hawaii.gov or (808) 586-8121 (V/TTY)

Table of Contents

Working Group................................................................................................................................................................ ii

Background....................................................................................................................................................................... 1

target Population.................................................................................................................................................... 3

Population Described................................................................................................................................................... 3

Population Quantified................................................................................................................................................... 4

Basic Premises and Assumptions........................................................................................................... 7

Goals and Objectives........................................................................................................................................... 8

Goal 1:......... Level I public emergency evacuation shelters shall meet minimum requirements for facility access to enter/exit and use toilet facilities........... 9

Goal 2:......... The capacity of the community to “shelter in place” shall be increased....... 10

Goal 3:......... The number and dispersion of public emergency evacuation shelters able to provide augmented health support with Level II shelter spaces shall be increased, with the long-term goal of having ALL public emergency evacuation shelters contain Level II shelter spaces.................................................. 11

Goal 4:......... Individuals with disabilities or special health needs shall have an emergency evacuation plan in place developed by themselves or by their caregivers to implement in the event of a notification of evacuation................................................. 12

Goal 5:......... Education shall be provided to all licensed health care providers in order that appropriate emergency guidelines for health care facilities and/or residential settings are in place................................................................................................. 13

Goal 6:......... All notifications of pending emergencies and evacuation shall be accessible to persons with disabilities using multiple methods of delivery........................... 14

Goal 7:......... Individuals with disabilities or special health needs shall have an emergency evacuation transportation plan developed by themselves or their caregivers to implement in the event of notification for evacuation................ 15

APPENDICES......................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Appendix A.... Identified Special Needs Bed Listing.................................................................................... 17

Appendix B.... Goal 1 - Background & Progress to-date...................................................................... 18

Appendix C.... Goal 2 - Background & Progress to-date...................................................................... 20

Appendix D.... Goal 3 - Background & Progress to-date...................................................................... 22

Appendix E.... Goal 4 - Background & Progress to-date...................................................................... 24

Appendix F..... Goal 5 - Background & Progress to-date...................................................................... 27

Appendix G Goal 6 - Background & Progress to-date........................................................................ 29

Appendix H.... Goal 7 - Background & Progress to-date...................................................................... 33

Appendix I....... Acronyms................................................................................................................................................ 35

Appendix J..... Glossary of Termnology............................................................................................................. 38

Background

In the wake of the September 11^th terrorist attacks and the subsequent disasters of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma of 2005, the inability of the system to respond to the needs of persons with disabilities or other special health needs became more apparent as a major deficiency in our overall community emergency preparedness and response system. The State of Hawaii and its political jurisdictions would fare no better than mainland locations in meeting the needs of persons with disabilities were similar events to occur tomorrow. The disasters, coupled with the growing recognition that people with disabilities or special health needs are a more vulnerable population in an emergency or natural disaster when their daily survival mechanism, coping skills, and support systems are interrupted, have emphasized the need to prepare a strategic plan which addresses the unique circumstances of persons with disabilities and special health needs in disaster preparedness planning.

A Harris Poll commissioned by the National Organization on Disability in November 2001 discovered that 58% of people with disabilities did not know whom to contact about emergency plans in their community. Some 61% of those surveyed had not made plans to quickly and safely evacuate their homes. And, among those individuals with disabilities who were employed, 50% said that no plans had been made to safely evacuate their workplace. All of these percentages were higher than the percentages for people without disabilities.

A Working Group was originally convened in October 2005 to address this issue. Participants consisted of the Disability and Communication Access Board, State Department of Health, State Civil Defense, State Department of Human Services, State Department of Education, State Council on Developmental Disabilities, County Civil Defense Agencies, American Red Cross, Executive Office on Aging and Healthcare Association of Hawaii. In 2006 membership of the Working Group expanded to incorporate representatives from disability groups statewide: County Mayor’s Committees/Commissions on Persons with Disabilities, Hawaii Association of the Blind, and Hawaii Services on Deafness. In 2007 the Hawaii Association of the Blind no longer had a representative on the Working Group and Hawaii Services on Deafness closed at the end of June. Both agencies were removed from the list of the Working Group members. Several new agencies joined the Working Group in 2007: Hui Kupuna VIP representing individuals who are elderly and have a disability, the Hawaii Centers for Independent Living and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Hawaii Division representing individuals with disabilities, and the National Association of the Blind representing people who are blind and visually impaired.

The Interagency Working Group initially developed the first Plan in February 2006 with six (6) goals. It was updated in February 2007 with the addition of a Goal 7 that focused on transportation needs of the target population. This current 2008 Plan represents an update to the prior versions incorporating amendments to the existing goals and objectives along with additional information reflecting progress made and suggestions from the community statewide. It is the intent of the Interagency Working Group to review and revise the Plan on an annual basis.

In Fall 2007 the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreement, allocated funds to sponsor statewide public forums to review and comment on the 2007 Plan. Forums were conducted during October 2007 in each county. Specific counties developed their own invitation lists of key representatives from agencies, advocates, individuals with disabilities, family members and caregivers. Attendance at each forum was diverse, resulting in comments and suggestions that were creative and unique to each location. Representatives from Guam and American Samoa were invited to and included at the Oahu forum, along with two representatives from each neighbor island forum. Using this methodology to obtain input resulted in development of this 2008 Plan that represents the needs of a broader base of Hawaii’s community of people with disabilities.

This Action Plan is not an emergency preparedness document, nor is it a special health needs response plan. It is a roadmap to ensure that other legislative, administrative, or programmatic efforts are inclusive of the issues of people with disabilities or special health needs. This document does not propose an entirely separate set of emergency procedures or plans. The Plan is an acknowledgment that the interests of people with disabilities and special health needs must be made a part of overall community efforts. Everyone will benefit if the overall system is better prepared to respond to the entire community including people with disabilities or special health needs. Finally, the Plan is in recognition of the fact that people with disabilities and their caregivers have as much responsibility as any other citizen to prepare for surviving an emergency.

This Plan focuses on those individuals with disabilities (physical, mental, or health-related) that may compromise their ability to respond or respond as effectively as the general population. While many people will have unique needs in an emergency, such as those resulting from limited English speaking skills, homelessness, pet ownership, geographic isolation, cultural isolation, single parent status, criminal offender status, chemical dependency, or low income status, this Plan does not specifically address those circumstances at this time.

The Working Group has chosen to focus on emergency preparedness, notification, and sheltering in this Plan as the most pressing issues. The Working Group acknowledges the importance of other issues such as infrastructure, recovery and long-term support system. This Plan is an evolving document and other issues will be integrated into the Plan as the efforts of the Working Group continue.

target Population

Population Described

There is no absolute definition of the population of individuals with disabilities or special health needs for the purposes of this Plan. However, the population can be described, rather than defined, by its needs in the event of an emergency or disaster, and can be clustered by their level of independence and need for health or medical support acknowledging that even with the best of ‘descriptions,’ the population is not homogeneous and does not come together through a common service delivery system. For the purposes of this discussion the population can be very broadly described and clustered into the following categories as outlined by the American Red Cross (ARC) national guidelines: