FEMA DECLARES SOME COUNTIES ELIGIBLE FOR DISASTER ASSISTANCE
Brevard Hendry Okeechobee St. Lucie Volusia
Disaster assistance is money or direct assistance to individuals, families and businesses in an area whose property has been damaged or destroyed and whose losses are not covered by insurance. It is meant to help you with critical expenses that cannot be covered in other ways. This assistance is not intended to restore your damaged property to its condition before the disaster.
While some housing assistance funds are available through our Individuals and Households Program, most disaster assistance from the Federal government is in the form of loans administered by the Small Business Administration.
First and foremost, to qualify for assistance, your losses must have occurred in an area covered by a disaster declaration.
Secondly, if you have insurance, you must file a claim with your insurance company.
Two types of disaster assistance, "Housing Needs" and "Other than Housing Needs", are available to individuals, families and businesses in an area whose property has been damaged or destroyed and whose losses are not covered by insurance.
Whether applying online OR over the phone, you should have a pen and paper and the following information ready:
Your Social Security number.
Current and pre-disaster address.
A telephone number where you can be contacted.
Insurance information.
Total household annual income
A routing and account number from your bank (only necessary if you want to have disaster assistance funds transferred directly into your bank account)
Lookup your bank routing number.
A description of your losses that were caused by the disaster.
Residents and business owners in the declared areas are encouraged to contact the FEMA Tele-registration Line at:
1-800-621-FEMA (3362)
Speech or hearing disabilities call TTY 1-800-462-7585
VISIT WWW.FEMA.GOV FOR MORE INFORMATION
Thursday, August 28, 2008
FEMA Declares Florida Counties Eligible for Disaster Assistance
Monday, August 25, 2008
President Declares Major Disaster for Florida
Release Date: August 24, 2008Release Number: HQ-08-168
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for Florida to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by Tropical Storm Fay beginning on August 18, 2008, and continuing.
FEMA Administrator David Paulison said federal funding is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by Tropical Storm Fay in the counties of Brevard, Monroe, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie.
Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.
Paulison named Thomas P. Davies the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. Davies said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Tropical Storm Fay
As of 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) Thursday morning, the center of Tropical Storm Fay was located in the east central Florida coastal waters, approximately 20 miles east of Daytona Beach. Maximum sustained winds remain near 60 mph. Fay has been nearly stationary during the past few hours but is expected to begin a slow west-northwest motion towards the east central and northeast Florida coast line during the morning hours. Sustained tropical storm force winds will spread along coastal areas of northeast and east central Florida through Thursday morning.
Rain bands along the south side of Fay’s circulation will continue to produce flooding over the saturated soils of east central Florida. Locations south of Brevard County could experience storm totals near 30 inches of rain. Flood watches remain in effect for central and northeast Florida. A flash flood warning is in effect for Brevard County until 12:00 pm Thursday. A flashflood warning means that flooding is imminent or occurring. Take immediate actions to protect life and property.
Travel is not recommended anywhere in east central Florida tonight. A tropical storm warning is in effect for Fort Pierce northward to Altamaha Sound, Georgia. A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the next 24 hours. An inland tropical storm warning is in effect for interior section of east central and northeast Florida. This means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the next 24 hours.
Even if you are not in the path of the storm, it is a good opportunity to review and practice your disaster plans. This includes educating your patients and helping them to develop their disaster plan. Patients should be informed where to go, what to do and who to contact. The following are key areas to address in preparing patients:
- The Network has made available patient ID cards. Encourage your patients to use them. Additional copies can be downloaded from the FMQAI website at http://www.fmqai.com/ESRD/pdf/Emergency%20Hurricane%20Cards.pdf
- If an evacuation order is issued, patients should be given a copy of their treatment orders, medications, instructions on their emergency diet, a list of Florida dialysis facilities and facility emergency contact information. (Please do not distribute the phone numbers marked for “Staff Use Only” to patients.)
- If the patient is evacuating, ask where they plan to go and for an out of area contact number.
- Peritoneal dialysis patients and home hemodialysis patients should be contacted and prepared with ample supplies and information on how to contact their supplier.
Due to the current weather situation, please remain aware of updated advisories. The following are useful links that may benefit you as well as your patients:
Link to local EOC
http://www.floridadisaster.org/County_EM/county_list.htm
Link to Emergency Guide for People on Dialysis
http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/10150.pdf
Link to Emergency Preparedness Guide for Dialysis Facilities
http://www.fmqai.com/ESRD/pdf/CMSDisasterPlanningGuide.pdf
Following the storm, please contact the Network to advise of your facility’s status and if you are in need of assistance. Also, please notify the Network if you are unable to locate one of your patients, as well as if you are assisting another facility by dialyzing one of their patients. Thank you for your ongoing attention to the safety of your patients.
Network Office – 813-383-1530
Friday, August 15, 2008
CMS Draft Interpretive Guidelines Published
The document includes the regulatory language that was published as a final rule for the ESRD program in the Federal Register on April 15, 2008, as well as regulatory text that was incorporated by reference in that final rule.
Comments and rationale pertaining to the “draft” Interpretive Guidelines can be submitted to the CMS mailbox at ESRDSurvey@cms.hhs.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on August 18, 2008. A template to submit comments and rationale is included in the guideline document.
You can locate the “draft” Interpretive Guideline document on the FMQAI website at http://www.fmqai.com/ESRD/.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Coping with disasters
Disasters can have a far-reaching impact on victims and responders. But you don’t have to be a disaster victim to experience the anxiety and stress. Disasters can cause widespread physical damage, but they can also cause emotional damage.
A disaster can make you sad, angry, confused, or scared. These emotions are very common. But sometimes, these emotions can last a long time or keep you from doing daily activities. You should be able to recognize the warning signs that you or your loved ones are experiencing difficulty.
Sometimes anniversaries of disasters can trigger anxiety. There are many organizations that can help you cope with disasters. If you are a dialysis or transplant patient, talk to your social worker about your feelings.
There are many resources on the Internet where you can find help. Here are just a few: