Home Health & Hospice Week

Public health emergencies declared in 3 states and Puerto Rico so far.

At press time, home health agencies in the Carolinas were bracing for probable severe impact from Hurricane Dorian.

Florida HHAs, their patients, and their employees thought they might be next in the Dorian’s path of destruction, but the storm failed to make landfall on Wed. Sept. 4, after devastating parts of the Bahamas. Still, 10,000 Florida customers were out of power on that day, according to press reports.

At press time, the storm had regained strength and increased in size, and was forecast to move up the Southeast Coast on Thursday and Friday, with severe conditions expected for South and North Carolina in particular, and also southern Virginia. About 200,000 customers in South Carolina were out of power.

North Carolina HHAs have been in preparation mode, reported Kathie Smith with the Association of Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina. “We have urged our members as they utilize their own emergency preparedness plans to reach out to the NC DHHS Healthcare Preparedness Program and their regional coalitions,” Smith told Eli. AHHC has also sent out information about Medicaid services and other resources, she says.

Smith added that “daily calls with the North Carolina Health Care Association to network and collaborate with other types of providers across the state as preparations are under way to prepare for the potential impact of Hurricane Dorian” have been helpful.

AHHC CEO Tim Rogers noted that the collaboration with NCHA and its hospital members is a “win-win for home care and hospice agencies in North Carolina in all respects.”

As Dorian approached, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services swung into action, with HHS Secretary Alex Azar declaring Public Health Emergencies in Puerto Rico, Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina effective on dates ranging from Aug. 26 to Sept. 1. It also issued waivers of certain regulations, suspension of survey and enforcement activities, and other actions.

“Our thoughts are with everyone who is in the path of this powerful and dangerous hurricane and CMS is doing everything within its authority to provide assistance and relief to all who are affected,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma in a release. “We will partner and coordinate with state, federal, and local officials to make sure that in the midst of all of the uncertainty a natural disaster can bring, our beneficiaries will not have to worry about access to healthcare and other crucial life-saving and sustaining services they may need.”

Waiver and other details are at www.cms.gov/About-CMS/Agency-Information/Emergency/EPRO/Current-Emergencies/Current-Emergencies-page.html.

Dorian actually isn’t the first emergency declaration in hurricane season. Secretary Azar declared a PHE and SNF waiver in Louisiana in July related to Tropical Storm Barry.

See an extensive directory of emergency preparedness resources on the AHHC website at www.ahhcnc.org/emergencyinfo.