Baton Rouge Senior AdvisorWhat are the main storm risks for older adults in the Baton Rouge area?
Flooding from heavy rain and rising rivers, such as the August 2016 flood along the Amite and Comite, and long power outages after hurricanes like Gustav in 2008 and Ida in 2021, which leave homes without air conditioning, refrigeration or power for medical equipment.
Storm surge is rarely the issue this far inland, but heat is. A frail parent in an unpowered house in late August is at real risk within a day or two.
How do we make a storm plan for a parent living at home?
Write down where your parent will go and who will take them, keep a two-week supply of medications and a printed list of them, plan for power for oxygen or other equipment, and register with the parish's emergency preparedness office if your parent will need help evacuating.
Know your parent's flood risk; many 2016 flood victims did not live in mapped flood zones. Keep copies of insurance policies, IDs and powers of attorney in a waterproof bag or online.
What should we ask an ARCP or nursing home about storms?
Ask for the written evacuation and shelter-in-place plan, what the generator runs and for how long, where residents went the last time, how families are notified, and what the written disaster-fee formula charges.
Louisiana requires ARCPs to report residents' locations to LDH within 48 hours of an evacuation and not to reopen a damaged building until LDH authorizes it. See the emergency planning rules.
What about dialysis, oxygen and other medical needs?
Ask each provider for its own emergency plan, keep extra oxygen and supplies, and know which facilities have backup power, because dialysis centers and home oxygen suppliers all plan differently.
Home health agencies and hospices must have emergency plans for their patients too; ask how they will reach your parent and what happens if they cannot.
Who helps older adults during an emergency in the Baton Rouge region?
Parish offices of emergency preparedness run shelters and evacuation assistance, parish councils on aging often check on clients and deliver meals before and after storms, and 911 is for anyone in immediate danger.
Call your parent's council on aging before the season starts to ask how it handles storm-week meal deliveries and check-in calls.
Side by side
| A good storm plan has | A weak storm plan has | |
|---|---|---|
| Power | A plan for cooling and equipment | Only flashlights |
| Medications | A two-week supply and a printed list | Last-minute refills |
| People | A named driver and destination | "We'll figure it out" |
| Facility | A written plan you have read | Verbal reassurance |
Sources: LAC 48:I.Chapter 68 for adult residential care, Louisiana Department of Health (Health Standards Section and Office of Aging and Adult Services) program pages, the Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs, CareScout and VA rate tables, each cited in the text. Our editorial standards explain how we check them.
