Speaking to LeadingAge Annual Meeting attendees on Monday, October 28, president and CEO Katie Smith Sloan paid tribute to the courage of members who faced devastating damage from the onslaught of two hurricanes in September and October in the southeastern U.S. and the members who helped them. Praising what can be done “when we all come together,” she then built on the meeting’s Courage Ignited theme and challenged members to help create a movement that reimagines our current siloed, dysfunctional system of paying for and delivering aging services. Join us, she urged: “Our future will be shaped by the degree of our personal engagement, the size of our hearts, and our capacity to work together.” Read her thoughts here.

In her October 22 blog, LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan shared the on-the-ground stories of LeadingAge members and state partners who lived through the two terrible hurricanes, Helene and Milton, that ravaged the southeastern United States between September 26 and October 9. Despite heartbreaking loss of life and property damage suffered by some staff, along with member communities’ and staff members’ struggles to restore power, water, communications, and food, Sloan recounts the ways providers banded together to help each other recover, while other members generously contributed to the LeadingAge Disaster Relief Fund. Read Sloan’s blog for details.

Since the late September launch of LeadingAge’s Disaster Relief Fund, some members have shared stories of storm-related damage and distress. Like everyone living in the paths of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, LeadingAge members are assessing damage, cleaning up and rebuilding–infrastructure, homes and lives. “Viewing the destruction is overwhelming,” said Nancy Hooks, LeadingAge senior vice president member and state partnerships, who last week visited some of the Florida LeadingAge communities impacted by the storms. She’s also been in close touch with members in North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia since Helene made landfall at the end of last month. The storms’ impact and unpredictability is unsettling—which is why “we’re here for those in need,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO, LeadingAge. Read more here.

While examples of tremendous efforts to address storm-related challenges and to rectify needs abound, for many, the impact of Hurricanes Helene and Milton will be long-lasting. Lives have been upended. Read more here.

The recent devastation of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, along with other weather-related crises in 2024, remind us why comprehensive emergency preparedness is critical for providers.

A Hazard Vulnerability Analysis (HVA) is a valuable tool for assessing hazards and the level of risk associated with each type. For guidance and tips on updating your HVA, review our article on the four core elements of an emergency preparedness plan, and link to valuable online tools from LeadingAge and elsewhere.

Hurricanes and tornadoes have taken their toll on LeadingAge members, staff, and residents across the Southeast in the two week-period since Helene’s September 26 landfall on the Florida Gulf Coast and continuing through Hurricane Milton’s destruction in Florida.

Catastrophic flooding, sustained power and infrastructure outages, destroyed and flooded homes, and tremendous losses—some unimaginable, including lost or missing family members—over the course of two weeks have strained many across the southeastern United States.

After the storms passed, communities rallied.  Learn more here.

Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra issued a letter to healthcare providers on October 9 and a press statement on October 11 outlining the Department’s understanding of and actions to address intravenous (IV) solution supply shortages related to Hurricane Helene. Secretary Becerra stated that HHS has moved and protected product from the impacted manufacturing facility in North Carolina, worked with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and other agencies to increase supply, and is working to restore operations at the impacted North Carolina facility. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) released an updated tip sheet on October 9 for managing IV fluid supplies during shortage. Read more here.

Hurricane Helene brought temporary disruption to a production facility located in Marion, North Carolina operated by Baxter. The Baxter facility provides a significant portion of IV solutions, irrigation fluids, and peritoneal solutions to the U.S. medical system.  In an October 9 letter sent to health care leaders and stakeholder, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary outlines steps the agency is taking to address shortages and provides information and resources to alleviate shortages and prepare for mitigation. Get the details here.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is requesting reports of vacant units to help housing survivors displaced as a result of a disaster event. In addition, LeadingAge has compiled a disaster preparation and response resource. Read more here.

Less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall along Florida’s Gulf coast, bringing deadly winds and heavy rainfall to Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee, staff and residents at most LeadingAge members are managing the work of clean up—while at the same time, coping with tremendous loss and change.

And in Florida, members in communities located around the Tampa, Sarasota, and Fort Myers regions, as Milton approaches, are repeating what they’d done just days earlier, pre-Helene. That is, “stocking up, and doing [all we can] to prepare to evacuate,” according to one staffer who works at an affordable senior housing community. Milton is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, October 9. Read more here.

Storm damage from September’s Hurricane Helene is having new impacts on health care providers including post-acute and long-term care. Baxter International, a company focused on production of healthcare products, has sustained significant damage to its North Carolina facility that produces approximately 60% of the intravenous (IV) solution supplies for the U.S.

As a result, healthcare providers are being advised to implement conservation strategies for IV solution use. Read more here.

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, many LeadingAge members in North and South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia are struggling to overcome the power and communication outages, along with lack of water, fuel, and food. LeadingAge state partners report members trying to access supplies (with impassible roads exacerbating the situation) and having to rely on generators to care for residents. There are stories of staff continuing to be there for residents despite suffering serious personal losses.

LeadingAge members are stepping up with direct help and via donation to the LeadingAge Disaster Relief Fund, which sends 100% of all donations directly to members and their staff. Read more here.

Since making landfall in Florida late last week and moving across the Southeastern U.S. over the weekend, Hurricane Helene’s path of havoc is widespread. Catastrophic flooding, significant damage across states to homes and commercial buildings, roads, and power and communications infrastructure are among the many crises LeadingAge members located in Florida, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia are facing. Read more here.