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Geriatric Mental Health Disaster and Emergency Preparedness

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APPENDIX<br />

I<br />

A Guide to Developing<br />

Training Programs<br />

for <strong>Disaster</strong><br />

<strong>Preparedness</strong> for<br />

Older Persons<br />

JUDITH L. HOWE, ANNETTE M. ATANOUS,<br />

AND JOHN A.TONER<br />

Since 2003, the GEPR Collaborative of the federal HRSA-funded GECs<br />

has addressed the needs of older persons in emergencies through the<br />

development, dissemination, <strong>and</strong> evaluation of education <strong>and</strong> training<br />

programs. Six GECs, located in California, New York, Kentucky, Texas,<br />

Missouri, <strong>and</strong> Ohio, <strong>and</strong> Mathers LifeWays in Illinois form this successful<br />

collaborative. Specifically, the CNYGEC received funding in 2005 to<br />

develop a curriculum on the mental health effects of disasters on older<br />

adults as discussed in Chapter 3. The CNYGEC curriculum was intended<br />

for distribution throughout the GEC network, area health education<br />

centers, area agencies on aging, health professional schools, local <strong>and</strong> state<br />

public health agencies, <strong>and</strong> community agencies serving older people<br />

<strong>and</strong> their families.<br />

This book was conceptualized by the editors to serve as an evidencebased<br />

guide for professionals working with older adults at risk for suffering<br />

mental health issues in the face of emergencies <strong>and</strong> disasters. These<br />

events include earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, heat waves, flu outbreaks,<br />

<strong>and</strong> fires in addition to man-made disasters such as terrorist attacks.<br />

Training on preparedness, <strong>and</strong> specifically the mental health effects of<br />

these events, increases the chance of survival among older persons <strong>and</strong><br />

makes communities more resilient. The editors also hope this book provides<br />

a framework for the development of training programs in disaster<br />

379

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