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Be Prepared: Public Health Emergency Declared as Irma Barrels Toward Florida
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Good Afternoon,
As of this morning, Hurricane Irma is a powerful category four storm with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour. At 8:00 a.m. EDT, Irma was located about 450 miles southeast of Miami and is moving west-northwest at 16 miles per hour. Current projections show Irma heading towards Florida and passing right through the middle of the state.
Today, U.S. Department of Health and Human (HHS) Services Secretary Tom Price, M.D.,
declared a public health emergency in Florida due to Irma. Under Dr. Price's direction, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ beneficiaries and their health care providers and suppliers have greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs.
Click here for public health and safety information provided by HHS.
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As if all this is not enough, Hurricane Jose is right behind Irma and now a category three hurricane. Jose is located about 480 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands and moving west-northwest at 16 miles per hour with maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour. The westward motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days. It is too early to tell if Jose will have any direct impact on Florida, but it is expected to turn to the north in three or four days.
HCAF is continuing to stay abreast of information and resources that may assist providers as they prepare for the impending storm. Here are some additional helpful tidbits that were recently brought to our attention:
- Gas Buddy App – Find fuel near you with the cheapest prices
- Walkie Talkie Apps – Turn your phone or tablet into a walkie talkie with this fast free PTT (Push To Talk) radio app. Talk to your contacts privately or join public channels.
- Zello App (Google Play) (iPhone)
- Intercom for Android – Intercom for Android acts like a simple walkie talkie (two- way radio) with no Internet needed. It only uses local communications.
- WiFi Talkie Free – Organize communication between devices at distances of Wi-Fi signal without using an Internet connection or a cellular network.
- Free WiFi - Comcast will be opening more than 137,000 free Xfinity WiFi hotspots throughout the state for individuals in need, including non-Xfinity customers, to help residents and emergency personnel stay connected. For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots, which are located both indoors and outdoors in places such as shopping districts, parks and businesses, please visit Xfinity.com/wifi.
- Through VISIT FLORIDA’s partnership with Expedia, the service has been activated to provide accommodations availability information for visitors, residents, and first responders.
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We will continue to keep our
members-only Emergency Preparedness web page
up to date with any additional information we receive. If you have particular tools, tips, or resources that you think would be beneficial for all home care providers to know about, simply email the information to HCAF and we will add it to our site. You can email us at
pheid@homecarefla.org
.
The HCAF office will remain open throughout the day today. We plan to operate business as usual on Monday, but this of course depends on the progression of the storm and whether our office sustains any damage or loss of power and internet. With that said, if you are unable to reach us by phone then please email us with your questions or concerns:
As you begin to hunker down and wait for Irma’s arrival, just know we here at HCAF are thinking of you and hoping everyone stays safe. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out to us if we can be of assistance to you and we will see you on the other side of this storm, hopefully no worse for the wear.
Stay safe!
– HCAF staff
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