LAUSR

To the Editor: As older, more medically complex citizens increasingly remain at home, communities face a heightened burden to serve them during large-scale disasters. Recognizing the role of home-based programs in supporting medically complex patients, accrediting agencies have increased their responsibility for their patients’ emergency preparedness and response. Previous studies reported the need for home health programs to strengthen their preparedness efforts to support local communities and increase the resilience of older patients in their homes. Nevertheless, there is limited understanding of these programs’ preparedness and response related to actual disasters. The Veterans Health Administration (VA) Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) programs provide longitudinal interdisciplinary care to certain veterans who present with complex chronic disease. The VA HBPC population has a mean age of 76.5 years. This study examines the experiences of nine VA HBPC programs in their responses to the fall 2017 Atlantic hurricane season: Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Thirty-four phone interviews with HBPC leadership and staff were conducted from April to July 2018.