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Red Cross chapter to test SNF evacuation plan

LTC Liability Monitor, September 22, 2005

The Southwestern Chapter of the American Red Cross will test a nursing home-specific disaster drill on September 27 in a Pittsburgh SNF, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The plan, which local Red Cross officials began work on in 2002, is the only disaster preparedness plan geared specifically to the needs of nursing homes and their elderly residents.

The chapter hopes its plan, if successful, will become a model for other responders, and the recent nursing home tragedies in Louisiana have catalyzed its efforts, the Tribune-Review reported. The September 27 drill will start with a severe weather warning, and then progress to a realistic evacuation scenario, in which the residents of Mt. Lebanon-based Baptist Home will be moved to a nearby church, theoretically within an hour's time.

Only a limited number of emergency workers will be available to assist, as if in a real scenario, the Tribune-Review reported. Administrators from more than 150 other area SNFs will be on hand to see the results.

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