Sara Sack, Ph.D.Assistive Technology for Kansans

National Summit on Emergency Managementand Assistive Technology Reutilization

February 23-24, 2010

ATK is the Statewide AT Program for Kansas

ATK’s goal was to become a part of our state’s emergency management plan

Small N to date: Experience in responding to 7 disasters (1 Level 5 tornado, 2 Level 3 tornadoes, 1 fire, and 3 floods)

ATK had much to contribute but wasn’t “ready” to participate

Needed to learn from the experts Needed the experience of preparing as

an organization and as an individual Needed to conduct a program analysis

to determine what we had to contribute and how we could manage these resources

Knowledge about assistive technology, durable medical equipment, and disability

Direct source of equipment for shelters and individuals

Indirect source of equipment—we know who else has equipment in the state (vendors, loan closets, etc.)

Statewide presence and connections

System already in place for moving equipment

Connected to the national AT/DME reutilization network to respond to large disasters

What inventory would we have ready to deploy? All categories of AT/DME collected within our

reutilization program How would we know what equipment we

had at any given point in time? Real time online equipment inventory

(hosted out of state and backed up daily) Where would the equipment be located?

At 6 AT Access Sites located across the state

How quickly could we reasonably collect the equipment? 24 hours

What additional equipment might be available? Network of 31 loan closets across the

state. Know general categories of equipment that they have and ATK has a disaster response plan in place with them.

How could we get the equipment to the disaster site? Use the delivery system of our

Reutilization Program, coordinate with Red Cross, use commercial carriers (Over-the-road carriers, UPS, Fed Ex, etc.)

How do others know what we have and how do we know what individuals need? View on-line inventory or share PDF of

available equipment pulled from on-line inventory

Obtain equipment needed list from SRS services, Red Cross, and other coordinating entities

How can agencies share this information without violating Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)? Reutilization program has a Business

Associate Agreement with state agency and is bound by regulations and protection standards

Individual can authorize the sharing of needed information

Who assumes responsibility for matching equipment and arranging for transportation? Follow chain of command: Reutilization

Coordinator, if unavailable then Program Director, management staff, AT Access Site Reutilization Coordinator from unaffected area

Who pays for transportation of equipment? No good answer To date we have used volunteers and

associated staff to transport equipment within the state

When expenses were incurred, billed as reutilization program expenses but not sustainable

What is the scope? Will individuals be in the area or will they be

scattered to various shelters, relatives, etc? What specific equipment is needed and

how do you know? Used lists and when people were dispersed

ran Public Service Announcements (PSAs) to locate persons who needed technology

What sources of equipment are nearby?

Where should the equipment go? Learned that access to the area will be

controlled and that the number of entries would be limited

How can we get the equipment there? Who will be onsite to help with

reassignment of the equipment? Who will receive and sign for the

equipment?

Statewide AT program and reutilization program staff have knowledge about AT/DME and disability

Reutilization programs may have access to lightly used, high quality assistive technology and DME

Programs may need assistance with inventory tracking to respond rapidly

Programs have connections within their states but would need to expand partnerships to respond in a comprehensive manner

Programs currently have a plan for moving equipment but would need assistance and further development to respond rapidly

Responding to disasters beyond the state/territory boundaries presents additional challenges

Contact information:

Sara Sack, Ph.D. Senior Professor, University of Kansas Director, Assistive Technology for

Kansans 2601 Gabriel Ave. Parsons, KS 67357 620-421-8367 ssack@ku.edu

National Response Framework(http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nrf/)

The National Response Framework presents the guiding principles that enable all response partners to prepare for and provide a unified national response to disasters and emergencies – from the smallest incident to the largest catastrophe. The Framework establishes a comprehensive, national, all-hazards approach to domestic incident response.

Emergency Support Functions ESF 1-Transportation

ESF 2-CommunicationsESF 3-Public WorksESF 4-FirefightingESF 5-Information and PlanningESF 6-Mass CareESF 7-Resource SupportESF 8-Health and MedicalESF 9-Search and Rescue

Emergency Support Functions ESF 10-Hazardous Materials

ESF 11-Food and WaterESF 12-EnergyESF 13-Military SupportESF 14-Public InformationESF 15-Volunteers and DonationsESF 16-Law EnforcementESF 17-Animal Services

Where do AT, AT Reuse and other related organizations fit in?

University Centers of Excellence, DD Councils, Disability Rights Networks etc.

They must be considered as in-kind agencies and included in the National Response Framework and the Long Term Recovery Plan.

Response cannot be added onto existing responsibilities without additional funding.