After receiving a list of nine recommendations on emergency preparedness and evacuation of older adults and persons with access and functional needs prepared by the Yolo County Commission on Aging and Adult Services earlier this year, county staff presented its responses on Tuesday.
“These recommendations were in light of recent emergencies in the county,” Connie Robledo of the County Administrator’s Office said while presenting a few of the ways the recommendations will be implemented.
Fires, floods and power shutoffs were examples of emergencies that have taken place in the past few years.
“The first recommendation directed staff to implement a voluntary Special Needs Alert Program (SNAP) alert program to identify and assist individuals with access and functional needs in the cities and unincorporated communities during a emergency,” Robledo explained. “Staff determined that SNAP is not a viable option for the county right now and that it requires manual input of data and a level of maintenance we’re not usually staffed for.”
The county uses Everbridge, a program known to the public as Yolo Alert, for emergency communications with residents during emergencies and data on people with access and functional needs can be added with the consent of officials from Placer and Sacramento counties who share the contract.
Robledo said staff will also work on getting current data into the Geographic Information System for added messaging purposes.
The next recommendation Robledo discussed asked the board to have staff “ensure all educational efforts from the county include instructions to residents with special needs and that this information be available on Yolo 211 and OES.”
“The county’s Emergency Public Information Plan is in place to assist with the logistics of informing the community during emergencies and staff will continue to provide important and up to date information on planning for emergencies and information during an emergency to Yolo 211,” Robledo said.
That information includes locations of evacuation centers, where to go to get power, where to go if you have medical needs, etc.
They concluded that educational efforts should continue to be done proactively.
Lastly, on a recommendation that asked the board to ensure In Home Supportive Services consumers are prioritized as recipients for free “go kits” if funding is identified, Robledo said staff will try to find money that can be used to provide the kits to IHSS recipients as well as a list of items they can purchase to fit their individual needs.
Supervisors unanimously accepted the staff’s report and findings and asked that it be sent to the aging commissions for their input.
Other recommendations that will be implemented include: an annual report on which licensed continuing care facilities are participating or not participating in the Healthcare Preparedness Coalition regular meetings and tabletop exercises; working with experts to develop Alzheimer’s Disease/dementia training for EMT and fire personnel as well as for Sheriff’s Office staff; and making the county website more accessible and easier to navigate as part of an upcoming redesign.
Additionally, county staff will leverage partnerships to create a rural Community Response Emergency Team that can be assigned to a rural fire protection district that can recruit volunteers and provide training, continue to evaluate legislation that could support state funding opportunities for the local Office of Emergency Services and share emergency preparedness information at 2×2 meetings with city council members.
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