THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 26, 1995 TAG: 9510260435
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
In August, as James Fonville watched television reports of Hurricane Felix menacing Hampton Roads, he got a call from a Chesapeake public health nurse, Carolyn Sanford.
Sanford, who works in home nursing services for the Chesapeake Health Department, worried about what would happen to him if the storm closed the roads. He has multiple sclerosis, a disease that causes muscle weakness and other problems, and though he lives on his own, he relies on a motorized wheelchair and a daily visit from a nurse's aide to handle some basic tasks.
At Sanford's urging, he asked a neighbor to spend the night with him, and he packed a small bag for the shelter, just in case.
If a hurricane or other disaster hits Hampton Roads, people like Fonville face great danger, more so than the healthy population, say emergency officials and advocates for the disabled. They will be meeting today to begin tackling the problem.
The people at risk aren't only those with major disabilities. Even healthy elderly people or those who need medicine to control a problem like diabetes could be in big trouble, officials say.
There is no regional government disaster plan for warning people with special medical needs, sheltering them or even helping them escape before the storm hits, says the Endependence Center, an advocate for people with disabilities. Most groups for the disabled haven't addressed the issue, either.
The Endependence Center counts about 50,000 people with physical, sensory or mental disabilities in South Hampton Roads, but most officials believe the total number of people with special needs is much higher.
The meeting is a case of a community taking care of its own, said Richard DiPeppe, director of community services for the Endependence Center. Cities can't handle it by themselves, and organizations for the disabled will have to take on the responsibility.
``The cities . . . have no idea what they're dealing with,'' he said.
Virginia Beach learned that in August, when health officials experimented with an emergency shelter for special medical needs. A school, some cots and a group of well-meaning volunteers simply couldn't handle the vast and varied list of medical problems facing residents.
Hospitals say they can't do it, either. In fact, some Norfolk hospitals might have to be evacuated in a hurricane, said James Talbot, deputy coordinator of emergency services for Norfolk.
Virginia Beach's deputy coordinator of emergency services, Mark Marchbank, said, ``Unfortunately, . . . a lot of it falls back on (the disabled). It's really taking a lot of responsibility for themselves, networking within their own groups.''
After the Virginia Beach shelter experiment, health officials concluded that the best course is for people with medical problems to get out of town as soon as possible.
Talbot concurs. So much of Norfolk is likely to be damaged by flooding or winds that, he said, ``I don't have those facilities for the general population.''
But he and others acknowledge that this is easier said than done.
Some, like Fonville, can't drive and must depend on specially equipped, publicly run buses to get around. Some can't work.
``The folks we serve, they're living on $460 a month. They can't stay in a hotel for two days,'' DiPeppe said. MEMO: Here are some of the problems that emergency services personnel would
confront in a hurricane or other disaster:
Even before the storm hits, disabled people may have trouble getting
information. Blind people, for instance, can't see the list of shelters
that many television stations scroll across the screen.
At shelters, problems multiply. There are people who need catheters
changed, people who need medication or a special diet, people who must
have a backup source of electricity for respirators or other machines
that keep them alive. Some people with physical problems can't lie on
shelter cots or the floor.
A mentally retarded person may become disoriented and not respond to
the commands of emergency officials, said Richard DiPeppe, director of
community services for Endependence Center. ``My fear is they may be
jailed, shot, whatever, not because they're any threat to the
community.''
An emotionally disturbed person could show up at a shelter, but,
DiPeppe said, ``you're not going to know they have a severe emotional
disability until the storm hits and you've locked the door.''
Elderly people who are healthy can become sick from days of a bad
diet, stress, noise and sleeping on the floor.
``They may walk in there smiling,'' DiPeppe said, ``but after three
days, that will change.''
by CNB