The Special Needs (SN) Project is a system designed to utilize County resources to assist those citizens who, in the event of a power outage, evacuation situation, or other disaster, would need various types of assistance. People who are dependent upon electricity for medical support equipment such as home dialysis, respirators, etc., as well as people whose health or abilities have been compromised for any reason are the people this system is designed to assist, should the need arise. In the case of the Special Needs citizen reliant on electricity, arrangements can be made to,

A) Get the power for them, or

B) get them to the power

In situation A for instance, a vehicle from the Fire Department can go to their home, re-charge the battery and/or back-up, and continuity of care is not compromised, nor is the person inconvenienced by having to leave their home at all.

In scenario B, the citizen has filed with us the information necessary for the Emergency Management Agency (EMA) office to transport them to a relative's home, a shelter, or hospital, depending upon their required level of care.

The balance of the SN population is those people who have disabilities or medical conditions that preculde them from being able to be completely self-sufficient. The County has the required resources to come to their aid in evacuation circumstances such as: a local chemical spill and/or plume, a long-term power outage in inclement weather, weather-related disasters such as a tornado or an ice storm, or any unforeseen circumstance that would render a residential area uninhabitable for any reason.

A Special Needs Form can be presently obtained from your EMA Officer, Gwen Ruark (gruark@morganga.org).