Onyx Home Care is a proud member of the HCAF is the Home Care Association of Florida.

Below are emergency preparedness resources put together by HCAF. It is critical to start preparing for Hurricane Dorian, now! The storm has been upgraded to a category 3 or greater located somewhere along the Florida East Coast and will make landfall by late this weekend or early next week. Remember, seniors are especially vulnerable during a hurricane. You can view or download our Preparing Senior For Hurricane Booklet here.

We highly recommend downloading the app listed below to help assist you during this emergency situation.

State Resources

Federal Resources

Disaster Response Support

  • Healthcare Ready – 501c(3) non-profit disaster response organization dedicated to protecting patient access to medicines and health care during an emergency.
    • Donation Coordination: Work with the private sector to route donations (medical and health related) to areas of greatest need (e.g., helped coordinate mobile pharmacies and mobile vision unit for shelters during Hurricane Harvey).
    • Public-Private Information Sharing: Coordinate and liaise between Federal (FEMA, HHS, etc.) and local officials and private sector companies.
    • Facilitate Access To Health Care Facilities: Coordinate with local authorities and law enforcement to ensure deliveries of critical health care supplies and personnel to impacted facilities and/or facilities treating survivors.
    • Promote Medicine Assistance Program: Both advocate for activation of programs and share program information broadly within our network and impacted areas.
    • Patient Assistance: Help patients find nearby open health care facilities, community health centers, pharmacies, or non-profit relief organizations that can provide them with the medicines or supplies they need (e.g., oxygen, wheelchairs, etc.)
    • Contact Information: Private sector and patient requests for assistance or information may be sent to Healthcare Ready. The latest situation reports (Sit-Reps) are available online by clicking here and the site contains resources and additional detail on what we have been doing for Hurricane Harvey and what they are positioned to do for Hurricane Irma. Email [email protected] or call toll-free (866) 247-2694.
  • National Voluntary Organizations Active in a Disaster
  • Voluntary Organizations Active in a Disaster

Mobile Apps

Emergency Preparedness Tools

Emergency Preparedness Tips

Flooding Concerns and Safety

  • Never drive into flooded roadways. Half of all flood-related deaths are caused when people drive into flooded roadways. Check road conditions before driving.
  • Avoid contact with floodwater. It may contain bacteria, hazardous chemicals and dangerous debris.
  • Never eat foods that have touched flood water. Even canned goods could become contaminated. Drinking water may not be available or safe to drink. Learn more about food and water safety during floods.

Power Outages

  • Statewide Power Outage Map
  • Report power outages or call (800) 4-OUTAGE. To check power outages in your neighborhood, go to FPLMaps.com, where you can find the total outages in your area, the cause and estimates for when power will be restored.
  • Do not run electrical generators inside your home. Carbon monoxide can build up and kill. Read more about generator safety.
  • Listen for announcements about the safety of public drinking water. Follow “boil water” alerts that may be issued.
  • If electricity has been off, refrigerated food may have spoiled. Discard any food that has been at room temperature for more than two hours or that has an unusual odor or color.
  • Babies on formula should be given ready-to-feed formula or powdered formula prepared with bottled water.
  • Learn more about food and water safety during power outages.

Medications

  • Make sure medication profiles are up to date.
  • Florida law allows pharmacists to dispense a 30-day supply in the areas or counties affected by an emergency order so long as the drug isn’t a Schedule II substance. Florida law also requires all health insurers, managed care organizations, and other entities licensed by the Office of Insurance Regulation to pay pharmacies for at least a 30-day supply of any prescription medication, regardless of the date upon which the prescription had most recently been filled.
  • Rx Open provides a map detailing the operating status of pharmacies during a disaster. The map is completely free and publically accessible.

Clinical Record Protection

  • Designate a staff person and a back up to be responsible for clinical records.
  • Back up client and billing computer records regularly and ensure patient data and required office client data forms is saved to a CD Rom or a zip drive and stored in a secure off site location. Larger corporate home health agencies may have local area network server that utilizes a backup server. This information should also be saved to a CD Rom or zip drive.
  • Store back up CD’s on site in insulated containers.
  • Make hard copies of pertinent client file contents including the physician orders, assessment, plan of care or service provision plan and advance directives in a secure off site location.
  • Provide a copy of the record items listed above to the client and/or the client’s caregiver to store in their home(s).
  • Transfer special needs registry lists and required information to a disc that is stored in a secure off site location.
  • Send updated discs and hard copy special needs registry lists to the county special needs department on a regular basis. Keep a copy on site in an insulated container.
  • Scan record contents on a regular basis. Small scanners can be purchased relatively inexpensive. There are also Corporate Scanners available at reasonable prices. Check consumer reports for the scanner that meets your agency’s needs.
  • Store copies of the scanned records in a secure off site location.
  • Arrange for the evacuation of records to a designated backup facility if there is sufficient warning prior to the disaster.

Business Property Protection

  • Raise computers above the flood level and move them away from large windows.
  • Move heavy and fragile objects to low shelves.
  • Move file cabinets to the interior of the business location.
  • Purchase materials (plastic sheeting) to cover computers and file cabinets.
  • Install fire sprinkler systems.
  • Install fire-resistant materials and furnishings.
  • Install storm shutters for all exterior windows and doors.
  • Secure light fixtures and other items that could fall.
  • Place Velcro strips under tabletop computers.
  • Install curtains or blinds that can be drawn over windows.

Stress