**AoA Older Americans Month 2008 Program Champion**

**[Project:]{.underline}** Disaster Preparedness for Frail Elders and
People with Disabilities in Southern Oregon

**[Organization]{.underline}:** Senior and Disability Services of Rogue
Valley Council of Governments.

**[Project Description]{.underline}**

The Emergency Preparedness Project for Frail Elders and People with
Disabilities for Jackson and Josephine Counties has turned out to be a
"leadership project" for the whole state of Oregon. Efforts of the
Senior and Disability Services of Rogue Valley Council of Governments
(SDS RVCOG), which were motivated by a flood in 1997, inadvertently put
us ahead of the curve when the national focus turned to preparedness for
vulnerable people after the Katrina and Rita hurricanes. The agency
believes the model could be duplicated in other rural or even urban
areas.

SDS RVCOG is an Area Agency on Aging covering two mostly rural counties
in Southern Oregon. The agency stepped into the emergency preparedness
arena when it accepted the invitation of one County Emergency Manager to
help sort out the human service community, which, she said, looked like
a "plate of spaghetti" to emergency responders. The County and SDS RVCOG
received funding for a joint emergency preparedness project---one of the
first non-bricks-and-mortar projects funded by FEMA. This grant and the
development of the products kicked off a process which has eventually
benefitted the rest of the state in regards to emergency preparedness
for vulnerable populations. The three original components are still in
operation today:

-   *A 15-minute video, called "Planning Ahead for Special Needs during
    a Disaster,"* which helps people with a variety of disabilities plan
    for their own safety. SDS RVCOG has distributed more than a thousand
    copies within Oregon and across the country. For years it was
    viewable on the website of the National Organization on
    Disabilities.

-   A GIS-Based Disaster Registry, which uses volunteers to keep the
    data current. SDS RVCOG distributes CDs with the data and map to the
    Emergency Operations Centers and 911 Centers in both counties, so
    rescuers can identify where vulnerable people live at the time of an
    emergency event.

-   A public education campaign about preparedness, including a poster
    for senior nutrition sites, print and electronic media campaigns and
    speakers at local venues such as meal sites, churches, and service
    organizations. And a second educational campaign about vulnerable
    people and preparedness for responders, governmental commissions and
    state-wide conferences.

SDS RVCOG was called on by one of its counties to assist in the writing
of the Emergency Operations Plan. Those community discussions initiated
included players from all realms\--the emergency response, amateur radio
operators, public health and hospitals, durable medical equipment
providers, parish nurses, long term care facilities, para transit
providers and childcare providers, as well as human service providers.
The conversations subsequently lead to:

-   The formation of two Special Needs Emergency Preparedness Committees
    made up of representatives of local public and private human
    service, health and public safety agencies---one in each county we
    serve. SDS RVCOG leveraged HRSA funds to staff the committees.

-   The planning of a Vulnerable Populations Branch to be activated when
    necessary by Emergency Operations Centers for both counties

-   The representation of vulnerable populations on the local COAD
    (Community Organizations Active in Disaster)

-   Replication of the Vulnerable Populations Committee model in other
    areas of the state

-   SDS RVCOG's leadership of a state-wide Disaster Registry Interest
    Group.

-   The contracting by Oregon's office of Seniors and People with
    Disabilities with RVCOG for staff to assist with the state agency's
    internal emergency preparedness planning and the development of
    expectations and rules for its contracted long term care and service
    providers.

For more information about this effort contact Donald O. Bruland (541)
423-1380 or via e-mail at <dbruland@rvcog.org>