Use Of Palm Beach County Special Needs Emergency Shelter Requires Planning, Registration

From the City of West Palm Beach:

July 22, 2020

It is important for every resident, especially residents with disabilities and other special needs, to plan for hurricanes and emergency situations.

The City’s partner, Palm Beach County, has established a Special Needs Shelter to provide for citizens with certain medical problems during a major emergency. The Special Needs Shelter is a facility with physicians and nurses on staff. Space at these shelters is limited. Prioritization is based on need. Please refer to the following criteria:

• Dependence on electric medical devices,
• Dependence on supplemental oxygen,
• Certain chronic but stable illnesses that require observation or caregivers, and
• Progressive Alzheimer’s or Dementia.

Please note the shelter provides cots for clients based on availability. There are no hospital beds. Registered clients will receive information on supplies to bring and how to prepare for the shelter. Clients will provide their own caregivers. To see if the Special Needs Shelter is right for you, click here for more information and the online application form: http://discover.pbcgov.org/publicsafety/dem/pages/special-needs.aspx

You may also download, print, and complete the application, and mail it to:

Special Needs Coordinator
20 South Military Trail
West Palm Beach, FL 33415

The City of West Palm Beach actively prepares for hurricane season year-round. The City also provides preparation information for citizens on the City Website at www.wpb.org/storm. To learn about the City of West Palm Beach, please visit: https://www.wpb.org/. To contact the City of West Palm Beach, please call: (561) 822-1200 (TTY: 800-955-8771).

This press release was produced by the City of West Palm Beach. The views expressed are the author's own.