News

Colorado Nursing Homes Prepare for Evacuations

Andrea Sinclair

05/30/2013

May 30--Nursing home facilities near the Waldo Canyon fire burn scar are preparing contingency plans for flash floods that could force the evacuation hundreds whose physical condition put them at a higher risk.

Most prominent is the Mount St. Francis Nursing Facility near Mountain Shadows, just south of the Air Force Academy. Last year, the nursing home's 105 residents had to be evacuated as flames raced toward the area.

Mount St. Francis claims it can move all its patients within an hour and 15 minutes , but an employee at the nursing home said the real problem lies in transportation limitations.

"There isn't a single vehicle available in the whole state that can move more than two to four patients in wheelchairs at a time," a Mount St. Francis administrator said. "A lot of our patients are not able to walk more than a short distance and that poses a real problem when an evacuation has to be done quickly."

The nursing home employee said they will work with American Medical Response and the Department of Homeland Security to conduct drills in July and August, focusing on lessons learned from last year's wildfire emergency.

AMR's Chelsia Baker , disaster response coordinator , said a large vehicle to transport many wheelchair-bound seniors may not be the most efficient measure.

"Moving each resident on a wheelchair onto a vehicle is a slow process," Baker said. "The wheelchair has to be loaded using a platform, they have to be situated and strapped in carefully. With a larger vehicle and the 7 to 10 minutes that it takes to load each wheelchair patient, it's just not feasible."

Baker said many nursing home patients can walk a short distance from the facilities to the evacuation transports, with help from emergency responders. At times, all it takes is a small effort on their part, she said.

"During the Waldo Canyon fire emergency, we used regular city buses, strapping the seniors with regular seat belts and we were able to get them all out safely," Baker said.

Facilities such as Mount St. Francis, near foothills and in the paths of flash floods and wildfires are considered top priorities, said Scott McCune, AMR operations manager, but all nursing homes need to have specific plans in place to deal with emergencies.

Paula Padilla , administrator at Parkmoor Village Healthcare Center , said the nursing home works closely with AMR and the Emergency Operations Center, as well as the city and state governments to draft comprehensive plans that address wildfires, flash floods and tornadoes.

"Our location is not in a danger zone, but after last year's disaster, it became clear that everyone is at risk," Padilla said. "We execute monthly drills and feel prepared enough to be able to move our patients efficiently."

Parkmoor Village houses approximately 100 senior residents, Padilla said.

The need for open lines of communication between emergency responders, relief agencies and the facilities that require evacuation was among one of the most important lessons from last year's wildfire disaster.

"As the crisis becomes more obvious and the danger more imminent, ambulances and evacuation vehicles have to move faster," Baker said. "We have to be able to get to the patients right away and move them to safer locations as fast as possible."

McCune and Baker agreed that exercises and drills are useful, but real-life situations always present unexpected circumstances.

"AMR is really good at thinking on the spot, spontaneity, and making quick decisions," Baker said. "But we've never had to perform such large-scale evacuations."