🩵 ME Living Inc. — Disaster & Emergency Preparedness

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Purpose

ME Living prepares for disasters to protect clients, staff, and records, maintain essential services, and restore full operations quickly—all while complying with HIPAA, ADA, and 42 CFR Part 2.

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What we plan for

Natural hazards (severe weather, wildfire, flood, earthquake), utility failures (power, water, network), public health emergencies, violence/security threats, and building incidents (fire, gas leak).

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How we protect clients & services

• Continuity of Care: Telehealth and phone triage if in-person care is interrupted.

• Medication/Supplies: Refill assistance, transportation coordination, and emergency kits at housing sites.

• Housing Safety: Shelter-in-place or evacuation plans for every location, including accessible egress.

• Data Security: Encrypted EHR/records with off-site backups and role-based access.

• Staff Readiness: ICS roles assigned, drills conducted at least 2x/year.

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Service status levels

• Green (Normal): All services on schedule.

• Yellow (Modified): Some in-person visits moved to telehealth; housing sites on heightened readiness.

• Red (Suspended/Relocated): In-person closed; telehealth/phone only; essential response teams active.

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Communication during emergencies

• Client alerts: Text + email + website banner.

• Hotline: 888-635-1022 ext. 4444 (updates every 4 hours while Red/Yellow).

• Accessibility: ASL/video relay and multilingual messages; large-print PDFs available.

• Privacy: No PHI shared in public updates; individual case details via secure channels only.

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If you are a client

1. Follow instructions from your case manager or the site banner.

2. For urgent mental health crisis call 988 (or 911 if immediate danger).

3. If you need medications or transport, call the hotline for rapid coordination.

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Quick website banner 

Service Update: Due to severe weather, some services are operating remotely. Clients will receive text and email instructions. For urgent needs call 888-635-1022 ext. 4444 or dial 988 for crisis support.

Internal (keep for staff) — Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) Outline

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Use this as your internal SOP/checklist; attach site-specific annexes for each location.

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1) Activation & Command

• Triggers: Local/state emergency declarations, building alerts, outage > 60 min, staff safety threats.

• Incident Command System (ICS) Roles

  • Incident Commander (IC): Program Director

  • Safety Officer: Facilities Lead / House Manager

  • Operations: Clinical Lead (therapy/case mgmt)

  • Planning: QA/Compliance

  • Logistics: IT + Supply/Transportation Coordinator

  • Finance/Admin: Billing/Grants Lead

  • Public Information: Communications/Privacy Officer

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2) Site response checklists

Shelter-in-Place (all sites)

• Account for clients/staff, secure doors/windows, move to interior rooms, check go-kits, maintain comms every 60 min.

Evacuation

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• Accessible egress plan, printed rosters & med lists, transportation assignments, rendezvous point, re-check headcount, notify hotline.

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Lockdown/Threat

• Secure rooms, silent mode for phones, coordinate with law enforcement, document times/actions.

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3) Continuity of Operations (COOP)

• Care: Switch to telehealth; daily outreach list for high-risk clients.

• Records: EHR cloud access; offline encounter log template if internet down.

• Alternate Sites: Pre-approved partner locations; checklist for minimum setup (power, LTE hotspot, PPE, lockable storage).

• Vendors: Priority pharmacy/transport contacts; fuel and generator info (if applicable).

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4) Client services specifics

• Therapy/Case Mgmt: Telehealth scripts, shortened sessions (20–30 min) for surge volume, crisis warm-handoff to 988 when needed.

• Housing: Curfew adjustments, meal/water stock, sanitation kits, backup charging.

• Victim Services: Safe-contact protocols, quick-exit communication, confidential relocation steps.

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5) Information security & privacy

• No PHI in group texts or public channels.

• Use approved encrypted apps/EHR only; if paper used, lock and scan within 24 hrs.

• Breach notification workflow if devices/data are compromised.

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6) Communication plan

• Cadence: Hourly check-ins (Red) → every 4 hrs (Yellow) → daily (Green).

• Trees: Staff phone tree + client priority list (high-risk first).

• Messages: Prewritten templates for SMS/email/IVR; accessibility and language variants.

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7) Training & drills

• Orientation at hire; tabletop drill every 6 months; full site drill annually.

• After-action review within 10 business days; improvements tracked.

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8) Recovery & claims

• Damage assessment; service restoration timeline; grant/billing continuity notes; staff wellness supports; debrief.