Staff report, Public Opinion (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania)

CHAMBERSBURG — Franklin County is planning to pay special attention during emergencies to people with special health needs.

The county is compiling a confidential registry from citizens who voluntarily provide the Department of Emergency Services with information about their special needs, including mobility issues and disabilities. The information would help the county’s response to personal emergencies and to community disasters.

“A neighborhood with several special needs patients may have their power restored quicker due to the needs,” Assistant Director Meghan O’Brien said, “allowing resources, such as ambulance, to be deployed over a wider area during recovery operations and allowing a more efficient use of limited resources.”

DES will securely store the information, according to DES Director Dave Donohue.

“One of the issues that arises frequently in disasters is that special needs populations are overlooked in the planning process, making some of our most vulnerable citizens at risk for serious injury and death,” Donohue said.

The information will help both crews responding to a 911 call and planners preparing for a hurricane, tornado, fire, flood, chemical spill, a terrorist attack, or chemical spill, according to Donohue.

Part of the information collected will be linked to addresses, so a 911 dispatcher can ask if the caller or victim is a special needs patient and give the information to the responding units. Emergency responders then can better respond with the appropriate equipment and care, according to Communications Center Coordinator Bryan Stevenson.

Other parts of the survey will be used to identify the types of special needs in Franklin County and concentrations of special needs populations. This will allow department to set priorities in evacuations and prioritizing resources, Donohue said.

Both systems will protect the privacy of the respondent by removing personally identifying information, Donohue said.

Special needs information forms are available from the department or at any of the Departments outreach events, including the Shippensburg and Franklin County Fairs, or at http://www.franklindes.us.

For more information, contact the Franklin County Department of Emergency Services at (717) 264-2813.

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