Hurricane Preparation & PlanningIt’s Important to Have a Plan

June 1st marks the official beginning of hurricane season each year. The best way to be prepared is to know the community’s hurricane plan and also have a plan of your own specific to your individual needs during a storm.

We would like to remind everyone that even with a minimal hurricane or tropical storm, electrical power may be disrupted, possibly for days. The emergency generators in our community only power the elevators and emergency lighting in the Arbor Trace mid-rises and Tower Pointe. If you are dependent upon an oxygen concentrator or other medical devices that require electricity, you need to have a back-up plan.

We would highly encourage any resident that has this type of situation to pre-register with Collier County Emergency Management and reserve space in their Special Needs Shelter just to be on the safe side. We will continue to invite representatives from the Collier County Bureau of Emergency Management each year to give a presentation to our residents on the services provided by the County and what to expect in the event of a hurricane and how you should be preparing in advance of the projected landfall. All residents should plan on attending this informative presentation each year.

In the event a hurricane is projected to make landfall in our vicinity and a mandatory evacuation has be called for by Emergency Management officials, you need to be aware that Arbor Glen should not automatically be considered a safe haven for those with special needs. Arbor Glen can only accommodate a maximum of 32 residents, which is what we are licensed for. Due to the extraordinary amount of preparations that must be made by Arbor Glen staff to gear up for a possible evacuation, Arbor Glen will suspend new admissions 72 hours prior to any projected landfall of a hurricane. If the threat is severe enough that it would be unsafe to shelter in place, Arbor Glen will begin evacuating residents 36 hours in advance of the projected time of landfall.

It is important to note, that in the event we are forced to evacuate Arbor Glen, within 12 hours of any projected landfall, there will be no nursing personnel on hand to respond to your medical emergencies should one arise, as they must go with the Arbor Glen residents to whatever site we evacuate to. Even if we do not wind up evacuating Arbor Glen, you need to realize that in the event of tropical storm force winds, we cannot dispatch nurses to your residence if it puts them in harm’s way.

It is also likely that Collier County Emergency Medical personnel may not be able to respond to any medical emergencies, if sustained winds make it unsafe for them to be on the road. For these reasons, if you have serious health issues, we strongly urge you to have a back-up plan.

For those of you who decide to stay in the event of a hurricane, even though minimal maintenance staff do remain on site in the event of a mandatory evacuation, their sole responsibility is to secure the property and to mitigate any damage to building structures caused by the hurricane.