With Hurricane Ian expected to be a Category 4 Hurricane before it hits Florida’s coast, Columbia County Senior Services is making an effort to make sure the seniors that it serves are prepared for the storm.
David Huckabee, Columbia County Senior Services executive director, said the agency and its staff began making preparations for the facility and its clients earlier in the week.
“We’re making sure we contact all of our clients, if at all possible, before the storm. That’s what we’ve been doing since (Monday) and will continue to do it through (Wednesday),” he said.
During the calls, Huckabee said the facility’s staff and volunteers tell their clientele about special needs shelters, make sure the seniors have access to food and their medication, as well as making sure the seniors are taking other steps to prepare their homes for the storm.
“We have established extra meal delivery routes this week to make sure everyone’s got some shelf-stable meals that’ll get them through the storm if power goes out,” Huckabee said, noting the facility plans to re-open next week to address any post-storm needs.
In addition, seniors are given the contact information for Emergency Management Services and know not to contact the Lifestyle Enrichment Center.
Huckabee said the agency will be available for emergencies through its phone system, because they report any unmet needs to the state, but the Lifestyle Enrichment Center will be closed Thursday and Friday.
“We would really encourage any seniors that we reach out to today or tomorrow, before the storm hits, that this is the time to make sure we’re doing it,” he said. “We’re lucky with this one (storm). We’re getting plenty of advanced notice and once it happens, hunker down, let’s not be on the roads — we don’t want our staff or volunteers on the roads, so contact emergency management during that time. Afterwards, we’ll be able to address any needs as well.”
Columbia Senior Services serves hundreds of local seniors, providing “Meals on Wheels” home delivered meals to some clients, while even shopping for some seniors who are considered homebound.
Huckabee said the staff and volunteers have been able to contact a majority of the clients and they hope to contact the remainder of people today.
“Our meal drivers are also doing extra routes this week, so they’re actually going to the homes of some of our most vulnerable people we deal with just to make sure, because sometime a phone call is not enough to make sure they’re doing everything,” he said.