VHA Support for Home Health Agency Staff and Patients During Natural Disasters

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Emergency Preparedness

Background:

• Home health agencies (HHAs) are crucial for community-based care for older adults.
• Under-resourced HHAs often lack integration into emergency planning, risking service disruption during disasters.
• Climate-related disasters increasingly threaten HHA services, prompting policy focus on elder care continuity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and contracted HHAs.
• To identify opportunities for extending VHA emergency resources to HHAs and their staff during disasters.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving interviews with 19 stakeholders from 6 Veterans Affairs medical centers.
• Data analysis conducted using rapid qualitative analysis techniques.

Main Results:

• VHA and HHA staff operated with limited awareness of each other's disaster protocols.
• VHA emergency managers had strong internal clinical partnerships but lacked direct ties to HHA oversight staff.
• VHA staff expressed interest in collaborating with HHAs to identify shareable emergency resources.

Conclusions:

• Establishing support pipelines via existing relationships can enhance VHA emergency protections for older adults.
• Such collaborations can help older adults age safely in place.
• This model can guide other health systems in partnering with community-based practitioners for disaster resilience.