Meeting psychosocial, emotional and spiritual support needs including bereavement support speaks to the importance of involving faith communities in emergency preparedness and response. Volunteer training programs need to sensitize volunteers to recognize and respect the attitudes, beliefs and values of high-risk vulnerable seniors.
4. Family Caregivers: Many seniors are caregivers for spouses, siblings, children, grandchildren or neighbours. Their caregiving role may create additional needs – and stress – during times of crisis.
5. “Ageist” attitudes may be held, either by seniors who may feel they should not be a priority because they are old and have lived their lives, or by volunteers who may give priority to the needs of younger persons. Conversely, there may be an incorrect assumption that older seniors will have more urgent needs than younger seniors, simply because of their age. More subtle factors may also be at play during an emergency. For example, the nature of some seniors’ relationships with authority or “power figures” can affect their behaviour when interacting with those persons during an emergency.
6. Physical Isolation: Seniors who live in rural and remote communities may become physically isolated during an environmental emergency because of disruptions to normal transportation and communication systems. Urban seniors living in high rise apartments face a serious threat of isolation if power outages shut down their elevators and they cannot leave. Emergency communication links are critical for these seniors.
Following the Emergency (Resiliency)
Once the first crisis is over, a different set of needs will emerge. These are related to health care, housing and financial support to deal with the aftermath of the emergency, and to begin the process of recovery and rebuilding. Ideally, communities will move from response to resiliency, which is the increased ability of individuals and systems to respond constructively to future adversity.
1. Health Care: A plan to ensure continuity of care must be developed to meet the health needs of high risk or vulnerable seniors. In addition to the community registry, access to medical records (e.g., a recent medical assessment, essential medications, equipment needs, oxygen, respiration, etc.) will be critical. One mechanism is the Vial of Life Program –, a small plastic container which contains medical and medication information and is placed on a shelf inside the refrigerator door. A fridge magnet indicates the presence of a Vial of Life. This system has been introduced in some Nova Scotia communities.
2. Housing: For many high risk vulnerable seniors, the decision to accept relocation to a comfort centre or shelter rather than remaining in one’s home may raise concerns about loss of privacy, property damage, vandalism, theft or looting. Seniors requiring special care may be most comfortable in a shelter geared to meet their needs, rather than being housed with the general population. Seniors with household pets may be unwilling to leave their homes without assurance that their pets will also receive care so emergency planning must include partnering with the Humane Society.
Thus, it will be essential to have a mechanism to identify those who are in their homes as well as a quick identification system for seniors to indicate whether or not they are able to manage on their own. At the same time, it will be necessary to ensure there is continued protection of vulnerable seniors from those who may prey upon them.
