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| Residents sought shelter from Hurricane Irma with their pets at the West Boynton Park and Recreation Center. (Sun-Sentinel file) |
Fifty Palm Beach County nursing homes still lack generator backup if a hurricane zaps their electricity, county emergency managers said Tuesday.
The state Legislature passed a law last year requiring nursing homes to have generators and fuel to power air conditioning in the event of a major power outage. The law came after 12 residents of a Hollywood nursing home died following Hurricane Irma in 2017. The hurricane knocked out the facility’s air-conditioning system, creating sweltering conditions.
In Palm Beach County, 50 of 250 nursing homes in the county lack a generator for power outages, emergency management officials said Tuesday.
County commissioners expressed concern about the nursing homes’ preparedness when disaster strikes.
“They’re not going to be ready and it will fall to the county and municipalities” to figure out how to evacuate the frail seniors who could suffer when the power goes out, Commissioner Gregg Weiss said.
Still, Palm Beach County’s 20 percent variance rate is better than the Florida average. Across the state, 40 percent of nursing homes have asked for more time to comply with the new law.
Hurricane season begins June 1 and ends Nov. 30. Although 2018 was an above average year with 15 named storms, 2019 is forecast to be an average year, with 13, including two intense storms with winds over 111 mph. Predictions change over the course of the season.
Palm Beach County managers said they were concerned about residents’ nonchalance to hurricanes and other potential calamities. A 2015 study showed that 60 percent of Americans have not prepared for a disaster, even though 80 percent live in areas that have been hit with weather-related menaces such as hurricanes. Palm Beach County’s emergency managers said they believe the same numbers apply in southeast Florida.
Hurricane Irma in 2017 proved a turning point for several Florida counties that realized they were unprepared for realities such as nursing home power failures and large numbers of evacuating residents with medical needs.
In Palm Beach County, emergency managers said they have since added several amenities to their 15 shelters to make them more comfortable and secure, including two-way radios, televisions, translators and wrist bands to identify who’s registered to spend the night. Each is also set to have the support of nurses, paramedics and mental health workers.
Palm Beach County will have 506 employees at its shelters, which are mostly schools.
Broward is still struggling with staffing its shelters. The county had 431 workers for 27 shelters during Irma, but emergency managers said the county would need more than a thousand workers if it opened all its 33 shelters. It’s hundreds short.
With the start of hurricane season a few weeks away, Broward still doesn’t have a plan in place. It’s asking for help from cities and the school district to cobble together enough people to have on call for the shelters.
Palm Beach County emergency managers emphasized they are not only preparing for hurricanes. They also train for active shooters, agricultural pests and diseases, fires, nuclear emergencies and Lake Okeechobee dike breaks.
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50 Palm Beach County nursing homes don't have generators as hurricane season approaches
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