When Lightning Strikes: Emergency Preparedness for Older Adults

Take some time to prepare for emergencies that may affect older adults in the home, office, and community in this MACo Conference Session.

evac older adults
Emergency preparedness needs change as our population ages. Image courtesy of the Federal Highway Administration.

This year’s MACo Winter Conference will include a session on emergency preparedness for older adults, sponsored by the Maryland Association of Area Agencies on Aging. In When Lightning Strikes: Emergency Preparedness for Older Adults, an expert in vulnerable populations preparedness and an emergency manager will offer a train-the-trainer seminar for county government officials.

Emergencies can affect every segment of a community, often being most detrimental to vulnerable populations like older adults. Hidden dangers lurk in the aftermath of emergencies, when older adults are at increased risk for exploitation. At the MACo Winter Conference, speakers will share best practices for preparing older adults in our community for emergencies with insight for human services and aging agencies, and those of us with older adults in our families and neighborhoods.

Participants will have the chance to take a moment and consider how to best protect older adults in their community – and even in their own family – with advice for developing communication plans, planning for medical needs and for pets or service animals, and preparing for critical decision-making that might be required at the time of an emergency.

Speakers:

  • Joanne Knapp, former Director of Emergency Preparedness Policy, Maryland Department of Disabilities
  • Jim Bass, Emergency Management Coordinator, Talbot County

Moderator: The Honorable Steven J. Arentz, Maryland House of Delegates

Date/Time: Thursday, December 10, 2015; 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm