Disaster Assistance

Office of Services to the Aging (OSA) Emergency Response Report

September 2, 2003

During the August 2003 power outage, Wayne County, Michigan, was one of the many counties in the Northeast and Midwest that experienced serious challenges. The water supply was contaminated and refrigerators and freezers weren't working. Michigan Area Agencies on Aging in the effected area faced the problem of how to get food and water to many older adults in the county living alone. The Michigan Office of Services to the Aging’s (OSA) response to the outage is summarized below.

1. All Area Agencies have emergency plans, which include a coordinator to work with the county emergency operations centers. OSA has at least four contact people with cell and home numbers for each Area Agency.

OSA implemented its communication system connecting OSA with state/county coordinators and network partners.

2. OSA provided AAA Region 1-C with list of Home-Delivered Meal Clients in Livonia, Garden City, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Redford, Redford Township, and Westland (1,600 clients) from the state’s web-based NAPIS application because 1-C lost access to their NAPIS database due to the power outage.

3. OSA verified with AAAs that plans were in place for ensuring clients had access to food and water.

• All 1-B home delivered meal clients had access to food during the outage.
• AAA 1-C home delivered meal clients did not receive meals, but were called to verify they had food i.e. shelf-staple meals.
• Detroit AAA arranged for additional “shelf staple” meals to be delivered on Saturday, August 16th from their supplier in Benton Harbor.
• Detroit AAA delivered 500 meals on Friday, 1,000 meals on Saturday, and 2,400 on Sunday. The meal provider in Pontiac was able to assist DAAA in this effort.
• Detroit AAA provided 6,000 bottles of water to home-delivered meal clients on Sunday, August 17th.
• AAA Regions 1-A, 1-B and 1-C all provided bottled water with home delivered meals through Wednesday following the power outage.
• The Mayor of Detroit ensured delivery of water to all senior high-rise buildings in Detroit.

4. Administration on Aging promised assistance with securing access to FEMA funding for weekend meals.

• OSA will provide assistance with completion of reimbursement forms as needed.
• Detroit AAA and AAA Region 1-C will apply through their local EOCs.
• AAA Region 1-B will submit through OSA on a regional basis.

5. OSA provided list of high-rise buildings in Wayne, Macomb, Oakland and Washtenaw to state coordinator /RSVP of Wayne County to contact with priority on seniors only.

• Area Agencies on Aging 1-A (Detroit AAA), 1-B, and 1-C contacted all high rise senior housing units to determine if building managers checked on vulnerable residents.
• Floor monitors in housing units in AAA Region 1-A (Detroit AAA) were utilized to do door-to-door checks of all residents with the Detroit AAA Care Management Director verifying that checks had been made in Detroit Housing units.
• AAA Region 1-B verified safety of residents with managers of housing units in 1-B’s PSA
• AAA Region 1-C worked with public safety/fire departments to check housing units.

6. OSA developed contingency communication system with Elder Law of Michigan to provide a toll-free 1-800 number for seniors for information on water, cooling centers, etc. 1-800-347-5297

7. AAA care managers implemented their plans regarding the protection and care of their most vulnerable seniors by contacting clients.

8. The State Long Term Care Ombudsman contacted all nursing homes affected by the power outage and offered assistance.

9. OSA provided specific assistance arranging delivery of bottled water to an Auburn Hills senior center. We also helped verify that an Oakland County nursing home received ice and that a Wayne County nursing home’s dialysis patient found emergency medical care.