Recently, a column in McKnight’s Senior Living highlighted emergency preparedness efforts in Arizona. As a unique progression to those efforts, an informational video has been produced to showcase the effectiveness of training, cooperation and collaboration of long-term care providers in the state.

Named after Arizona’s Emergency Preparedness Program for long-term care facilities, the “Disaster Ready” video provides an excellent overview of what providers in every state should be doing to make sure that they are ready for emergencies and disasters. The video is posted on YouTube.

Senior living and other long-term care providers in states across the nation continue to emphasize emergency preparedness. Comprehensive regulations now enforced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are requiring many healthcare facilities to be prepared for emergencies and disasters in accordance with a risk analysis or hazard vulnerability assessment. States often look to CMS when crafting regulations that affect assisted living as well.

The Arizona Health Care Association administers the Disaster Ready program in partnership with the Arizona Department of Health Services. The program, funded through a grant from the Hospital Preparedness Program, has been providing resources to long-term care facility operators since 2012 to help them be ready for emergencies and disasters by promoting the “all-hazards” approach of preparedness, response and recovery to help ensure continuity of operations during a crisis.

In addition, a website offers a full complement of tools for long-term care facilities around the state following this all-hazards approach. Some of those tools include the Nursing Home Incident Command guidebook and evacuation procedures, just to name a couple.

Watch, read and get inspired to be ready for emergencies and disasters.