Application Guidelines for PREPARE

The PREPARE program from Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging was designed to help train health care professionals and direct care workers in senior living (SL) and long-term care (LTC) settings. Through this program, these professionals become equipped to recognize the special needs and concerns of older adults in LTC/SL settings and to effectively respond to natural disasters or public health emergencies.

After five years of implementing the PREPARE program in all 50 states, Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging seeks to identify promising practices that organizations have developed and implemented since participating in the PREPARE training.

We call the practices associated with the shift from the individual model of disaster preparedness to community-wide preparedness "promising" rather than "best" to highlight the organizations that are moving away from more conventional practices by developing and implementing new and innovative approaches that lead to disaster preparedness.

PREPARE PROMISING PRACTICES

In this award application, PREPARE participants describe their promising practice(s) and the outcomes they achieved by implementing them. Examples of practices include:

• Identifying strategies for addressing special considerations for an older adult's response to disaster/emergency situations
• Addressing concerns of SL/LTC residents in disaster/emergency situations (e.g. family concerns, disaster planning involvement, evacuation, etc.)
• Understanding and mitigating the psychological impact disasters/emergencies have on older adults
• Identifying signs and symptoms of psychological stress disorder in older adults
• Developing innovative access to mental health resources for SL/LTC residents and workforce post-disaster
• Developing interventions/social support resources for SL/LTC communities in the event of a disaster
• Educating staff on identifying the clinical presentation of older adults who may be exposed to biological or chemical agents
• Developing effective SL/LTC community plans to prepare for influenza pandemics
• Developing effective ways to communicate during a disaster or emergency
• Creating innovative concepts/application of BT surveillance/response systems relative to SL/LTC communities
• Creating effective protocols for SL/LTC workforce education related to disaster exercise preparedness training
• Mastering the technical skills related to resident care in a disaster or emergency event
• Developing strategies for practicing emergency response procedures from a multidisciplinary approach
• Successfully incorporating the Incident Command System and the National Response Plan into the organization's disaster preparedness plan
• Building collaborations between SL/LTC communities and key community stakeholders
• Demonstrating an effective SL/LTC community disaster preparedness plan which includes an "all hazards" approach to surveillance, response, mitigation, and recovery

PREPARE OUTCOMES

Award applicants are asked to discuss the evidence-based outcomes of each of their promising practices. Examples of outcomes include:

1. Improvements to the disaster plan
2. Improved staff training (e.g. use of Incident Command System)
3. Residents and/or families of residents are better informed about the community's disaster plan
4. Staff roles and responsibilities in an emergency are well-defined and understood
5. Improved communication with local community agencies (could include mutual aid agreements with other LTC communities, collaboration with hospitals, communication with emergency response agencies, and/or public health agencies)
6. Emergency response exercises (tabletop exercises and/or drills beyond fire drills) are conducted at the community
7. Other steps taken that have improved organizational readiness for a disaster

To see the PREPARE Promising Practices Application Form, click here.

New application deadline April 30.

Contact

For more information, please contact:

Jayne Schaefer

Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging

1603 Orrington Avenue, Suite 1800

Evanston, IL 60201

Tel: (847) 492.6774

Fax: (847) 492.6789

jschaefer@matherlifeways.com