prp fro week 5 2018

here are the questions

Identify some of the legal, medical and ethical issues that may arise from not providing for persons with special needs in shelters.?

Choose 5 inexpensive expedient “fixes” which can be employed in a shelter to increase accessibility?

here are three different answers so please paraphrase one good answer

answer #1

Federal civil laws, Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act and the Stafford Act provide legal requirements for mandatory integration and equal access for people with disabilities in general population shelters (Fema, 2010). Going in contravention of the above laws and statutes could have you sued for practicing discrimination based on disability, and preventing equal access to programs, services, and activities.

Universal medical care is a right for all in general population shelters. Enough Medical personnel, Medicine and equipment to take care of special needs people must be available in shelters that house general populations. Such things include refrigeration for medications, bowel and bladder management, and access to medication to support the health, mental health and function of special needs people.

It is an ethical issue to provide shelters that cater to the needs of special needs populations because it helps battle social stigma and preserve their dignity. Doing so militates against discrimination and harassment which are socially immoral behaviors directed at People with special needs. Providing shelters that take measures to cater to special needs populations show awareness, respect, and acceptance of all people regardless of abilities.

There are many quick fixes that are temporary and inexpensive to make a shelter easily accessible by even people with special needs. Some easy adjustments to make a shelter accessible with minimum commitment of time and resources include portable ramps where there are steps to access a building, making curbs cuts in entrances and sidewalks, lowering shelves and service counters, rearranging furnishing to make room, providing alarms and guide lights, making doorways wider, installing grab bars for toilet doors, designated parking spots for the disabled, and remove carpeting materials that make controlling wheelchairs difficult ( The National Network, 2015).

References

ADA.gov. (2010). 2010 ADA standards for Accessible Design. Retrieved from https://ADA.gov/2010ADAstandards_index.html.

Fema.gov. (2010). Guidance on Planning for Integration of Functional Needs Support Services in General Population Shelters. Retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/media-library/ Assets/documents/26441.

Fema.gov. (2010). Non-discrimination Principles and Laws. Retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/oer/reference/priniciples.shtm.

The National Network. (2015). A Planning Guide for Making Temporary Events Accessible to People with Disabilities. Retrieved from https://adata.org/publication/temporary-events-guide.

Answer #2

Identify some of the legal, medical and ethical issues that may arise from not providing for persons with special needs in shelters.

Shelters with little accommodation for persons with special needs aggravate medical and legal issues that include: increased injuries to individuals seeking refuge in the shelters. Secondly, legal liability towards injuries sustained due to lack of proper accessibility infrastructure within the shelters. Third, the absence of structures friendly to persons with special needs is discriminative towards persons with special needs (Horner et al. 2018). Discrimination has both legal and ethical implications on shelters as it denies services to people in vulnerable conditions. Further, shelters with limited accessibility to persons with special needs are in violation people with disabilities act from a legal perspective.

Choose 5 inexpensive expedient “fixes” which can be employed in a shelter to increase accessibility

Providing shelters that acknowledge persons with special needs requires structural planning. However, set up shelters can apply a variety of fixes that include:

• One, provision of alternative entrances that have lumps.
• Secondly, provision of shelter aids trained or well conversant with a variety of special needs cases.
• Third, provision of documentation accessible to people with both impaired hearing and vision.
• Fourth, clear provision of direction to available facilities in the shelter with signs that cater for all people with special needs (Alisan et al. 2017).
• Finally, development of shelters emergency evacuation protocols that are in recognition of the persons with special needs. Provision with facilities that cater to medical devices such as wheelchairs and oxygen machines that need charging.

References,

Alisan, O., Kocatepe, A., Tuydes-Yaman, H., Ozguven, E. E., & Ozel, H. (2017). Benefits of Managing the Capacity of Special Needs Shelters with Cross-County Collaboration: Case Study in Florida. Transportation Research Record, 2604(1), 131-143.

Horner, M. W., Ozguven, E. E., Marcelin, J. M., & Kocatepe, A. (2018). Special needs hurricane shelters and the aging population: development of a methodology and a case study application. Disasters, 42(1), 169-186.

answer 3

Identify some of the legal, medical and ethical issues that may arise from not providing for persons with special needs in shelters.

Legal issues:

In emergencies, there are legal, medical and ethical issues that may arise in case people with special needs are not provided for their needs in emergency shelters. Federal legislation requires that people with special needs be accorded support by making provisions required as per resources available during emergencies (Francis & Silvers, 2015). It is illegal to discriminate against these people in the provision of needs to these people. According to various state and Federal policies, needs like sleeping space, access ways, and medical supply or other necessities should be availed to these people without discrimination. Discriminating against these people may worsen their traumatic conditions developed due to the disaster experienced. Therefore, it is illegal to discriminate against these people in any way, and one can stand trial for discriminating against them (Weiss, 2018).

Medical issues:

During an emergency, the health of victims is always a concern. This is because of the possibilities of disease outbreaks, disease contractions in cases of communicable diseases and the possibility of worsening of conditions that might be present before disasters (Meyer, Vatcheva, Castellanos & Reininger, 2015). Therefore, among other provisions usually presented in an emergency shelter, is medical attention where medical supply come in handy. Persons with special needs also happen to be in need of special attention in such scenarios. This is because those with health issues before emergencies might have their conditions worsening if not accorded the attention required. Additionally, due to neglect, they might end up contracting diseases in case they are left unattended in situations beyond their ability to handle themselves (Meyer, Vatcheva, Castellanos & Reininger, 2015).

Ethical issues:

In cases of an emergency, it is expected that people hope in first responders for support and provisions. In such scenarios, not all people usually have the same needs. Some may need medical attention than others, while others may be in need of basic provisions like food, clothing, and shelter. People with special needs will require all these and additional special attention for their special needs. Therefore, these people will expect that attention is given to their needs. It is therefore ethical that support providers consider their plight and offer support and provisions that aim at alleviating their distress in emergencies (Phillips, Neal & Webb, 2016). Lack of attention might demoralize them into a situation that might worsen their conditions.

Choose 5 inexpensive expedient “fixes” which can be employed in a shelter to increase accessibility

1. sign language personnel and experts, this should be done by the coordination with other organization in the affected community.
2. Having a different type of child toys for different ages such as painting books and color pencil so you can help children to adapt to new condition.
3. Flashlights with a great number of batteries.
4. Have a proper sign in place, Sign should direct clients to key locations throughout the facility. The sign should be 8 appropriate to the needs of the population, this may require signs to be published in multiple languages and formats. For example, having a picture board that helps persons who have difficulty verbalizing their needs.
5. Provide a private area for mother with an infant and private area for religious or culture reasons.

References

Meyer, L., Vatcheva, K., Castellanos, S., & Reininger, B. (2015). Barriers to disaster preparedness

among medical special needs populations. Frontiers in public health, 3, 205.

Phillips, B., Neal, D. M., & Webb, G. (2016). Introduction to emergency management. CRC

Press.

Weiss, T. G. (2018). Humanitarian challenges and intervention. Routledge.

Francis, L., & Silvers, A. (Eds.). (2015). Americans with disabilities. Routledge.