Haverhals Leah M, Manheim Chelsea, Vega Lujan Deisy
Denver-Seattle Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Center of Innovation for Veteran-Centered & Value-Driven Care, Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
Health Care Policy & Research, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
Geriatrics (Basel). 2024 Jan 10;9(1):10. doi: 10.3390/geriatrics9010010.
On 28 September 2022, Hurricane Ian pummeled parts of south Florida. Disaster and climate change research has shown that disasters exacerbate inequalities, especially amongst older and physically vulnerable people. Florida has a large population of Veterans managing multiple chronic health conditions and receiving long-term care in-home from Veterans Health Administration (VA) programs, including Home Based Primary Care and Medical Foster Home. To describe how VA staff provided high quality care during and after the hurricane, and how Veterans and caregivers accessed needed healthcare and supports post-hurricane, we conducted a site visit to Lee County, Florida area in May 2023, conducting N = 25 interviews with VA staff, Veterans, and caregivers. Findings from qualitative thematic analysis showed that while some Veterans and caregivers experienced significant challenges during and after the hurricane, including displacement and difficulty accessing oxygen, they felt highly supported by VA care teams. Staff efforts post-hurricane focused on improving care coordination in anticipation of future disasters, especially around communicating with Veterans and their caregivers, and a VA workgroup formed to implement changes. As climate change causes more severe hazard events, lessons learned from this project can better support healthcare staff, older adults, and their caregivers before and after major disasters.
2022年9月28日，飓风伊恩袭击了佛罗里达州南部的部分地区。灾害与气候变化研究表明，灾害会加剧不平等现象，尤其是在老年人和身体脆弱人群当中。佛罗里达州有大量退伍军人患有多种慢性健康问题，并在退伍军人健康管理局（VA）的项目中接受长期居家护理，这些项目包括家庭初级保健和医疗寄养家庭。为了描述退伍军人事务部工作人员在飓风期间及过后如何提供高质量护理，以及退伍军人及其护理人员在飓风过后如何获得所需的医疗保健和支持，我们于2023年5月对佛罗里达州李县地区进行了实地考察，对25名退伍军人事务部工作人员、退伍军人及其护理人员进行了访谈。定性主题分析的结果表明，虽然一些退伍军人及其护理人员在飓风期间及过后遇到了重大挑战，包括流离失所和获取氧气困难，但他们感到退伍军人事务部的护理团队给予了大力支持。飓风过后，工作人员的努力重点是在预期未来灾害时改善护理协调，尤其是在与退伍军人及其护理人员沟通方面，并且成立了一个退伍军人事务部工作组来实施变革。随着气候变化导致更严重的灾害事件，从这个项目中吸取的经验教训可以在重大灾害前后更好地支持医护人员、老年人及其护理人员。
