Aged care providers prepare for summer disaster season

Providers in the Byron and Tweed shires to workshop emergency plans with Australian Red Cross.

Australian Red Cross is bringing emergency services together to help aged care providers in the Byron and Tweed shires plan for the coming summer disaster season.

Australian Red Cross Response and Recovery Coordinator Alex Tanfield said the full-day workshop on Tuesday, November 28, would provide local aged care providers with the knowledge and resources to develop or review their emergency plans and work with staff and clients to be better prepared for emergencies.

Ms Tanfield said the local area was familiar with the impact of natural disaster and still recovering from the far-reaching impacts of flooding earlier this year and that now, before the summer season took hold was the best time to prepare for likely emergencies.

"The best prepared communities bounce back fastest, while those caught by surprise take time to recover both physically and psychologically."

- Alex Tanfield, Australian Red Cross

Over the summer of 2015/16, Australian Red Cross responded to its busiest summer season, helping 13,000 Australians affected by 25 disasters and emergencies in seven states and territories.

This summer, we’re working with communities, families and individuals to use practical and easy-to-use tools that will prepare people for this summer’s higher than expected risk of natural disaster using a new mobile app.

The Get Prepared app was co-created with general insurer IAG to help users make a plan, build an emergency kit list and store key contacts, with plenty of tips to make people safer.

The Get Prepared app, available in the iTunes app store and available for Android in 2018, is the result of research and design by Australian Red Cross and IAG to make preparing for an emergency simple.

Get Prepared app

Get Prepared helps you connect with your key support people, accomplish simple tasks to make you and your loved ones safer, and protect the things that matter most to you.

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