Many senior living providers “barely” have recovered from the impact of Hurricane Helene, but Florida providers in the path of Hurricane Milton now are bracing for what the US National Hurricane Center said has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for the area.
Calling Hurricane Milton one of the “most impactful” storms to hit west central Florida in some time, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service on Tuesday urged senior living and other long-term care providers in the state to finish their preparations before conditions begin to deteriorate this morning.
Kelly Godsey of the Tallahassee Weather Forecast Office of the National Weather Service delivered an updated storm outlook on Tuesday to participants on a Hurricane Milton emergency preparedness briefing arranged by the Florida Health Care Association.
“This is a very serious storm, a very serious situation,” Godsey said, adding that Milton will be a major hurricane by the time it reaches the Florida west coast on Wednesday.
Tuesday morning, President Biden (D) urged anyone in Milton’s path to “Evacuate now, now, now,” warning that Milton’s impact could be “devastating” and that the storm could be one of the most damaging natural disasters to hit Florida in a century. Similarly, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) warned Floridians during a Tuesday media briefing to “prepare for the worst.”
The National Hurricane Center announced Monday that Milton had intensified into a Category 5 hurricane, dropping to a Category 4 on Tuesday, with flooding and storm surges posing a major risk for many communities on Florida’s west central coast. Later Tuesday, the hurricane approached Category 5 again, but Milton is expected to drop to a Category 3 storm by the time it makes landfall, after which it is projected to move east through Florida and out to the Atlantic Ocean.
“Rest assured; we are ready to face this storm together,” FHCA CEO Emmett Reed said in a statement on the association’s website.
As of Tuesday morning, 169 assisted living communities and 63 nursing homes, along with other healthcare facilities, had evacuated residents and patients, with the largest concentration of evacuations occuring in Pinellas County in west central Florida, which includes Clearwater and St. Petersburg, according to Florida Agency for Health Care Administration Deputy Secretary Kim Smoak.
Sunday, that county issued mandatory evacuation orders for assisted living communities, nursing homes and hospitals in three evacuation zones.
“Pinellas County is in the potential path of the storm and could experience life-threatening storm surge, localized flooding and hurricane force winds, depending on where the storm makes landfall on Wednesday,” the order read. “Many coastal areas have barely begun to recover from Hurricane Helene.”
Saturday, Brookdale Senior Living said it was preparing to relocate some residents temporarily to either a sister community or to a hotel.
“Our team has been actively monitoring the situation and we have emergency plans in place. Teams are preparing emergency supplies of food, water, medications and oxygen,” Brookdale posted on its website. “We are taking preparatory measures to secure our communities and provide additional support as needed.”
Hurricane Helene caused Brookdale to temporarily relocate some of its residents, with some communities in Tennessee remaining under boil alerts as late as last Friday.
Steve McCoy, bureau chief of emergency medical oversight at the Florida Department of Health, said during the FHCA call that the state’s emergency operations center is conducting one of the “largest movements” of people ever in the state, using 600 buses, ambulances and vans to evacuate long-term care residents, hospital patients, people living in special needs homes and other individuals from areas within Milton’s path.
FHCA Director of Reimbursement Tom Parker urged providers to finish their preparations on Tuesday, warning that power outages could last days to more than a week in some areas. The FHCA has a Hurricane Milton page on its website with resources for providers.
The Florida Senior Living Association said that it is closely monitoring the progress of Hurricane Milton, which is projected to hit a part of the state that has “already experienced repetitive loss.”
“Our commitment is unwavering — we will be here, working around the clock, to help ensure the safety and well-being of our members, their staff and their residents,” FSLA President and CEO Gail Matillo said in a statement.
Florida providers face one, two punch
Preparations for Hurricane Milton began as many areas have not yet recovered from the impact of Hurricane Helene, which hit less than two weeks ago.
Helene affected Florida, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. After making landfall, Helene’s path was widespread, bringing catastrophic flooding and significant damage to homes and commercial buildings, roads, and power and communications infrastructure.
Argentum reported Monday that many areas affected by Helene faced or continued to face outages of power, phone/internet service or water or are inaccessible due to washed-out roads and bridges. The damage is preventing the safe travel for community staff members and residents, relief workers and distribution of supplies such as medication, water and portable generators, according to the association.
Argentum’s partners in each of the affected states are working directly with their state emergency management officials to relay concerns and seek immediate assistance. The national association said it is working with lawmakers to amplify calls for help and to prepare for senior living-specific needs in federal disaster relief legislation.
Last week, Argentum launched a survey whereby communities could report their status and needs. Responses will be shared with state partners and emergency management officials and with federal lawmakers to better understand the disaster relief needs.
The association also will be sending letters to members of Congress outlining the specific need for relief in senior living communities. Last year, Argentum said it successfully advocated for senior living communities affected by storms to be eligible for $16 billion in federal disaster relief funding, and in 2022 it ensured that senior living providers would be eligible for funding from the $858 million disaster relief package established for communities and businesses in Hurricane Ian and Fiona-impacted areas. That aid allowed operators to repair or replace disaster-damaged property, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment.
