Hello, and welcome to the Fairfax County Health and Safety Podcast for Oct. 7, 2008. I’m Jim Person, Fairfax County emergency information officer. Coming up, learn about Fairfax County's two special needs registries and the fuel assistance and crisis assistance programs. Links to topics mentioned in this podcast can be found online at www.fairfaxcounty.gov.
Fairfax County created the Special Needs Registry so the county can contact residents with medical needs and organizations assisting those with social needs during an emergency. Fairfax County messages include information about emergency preparedness, and response and recovery resources available to vulnerable, at-risk and hard-to-reach residents. The registry has two distinct categories: the Medical Needs Registry and the Social Needs Registry.
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The Medical Needs Registry contains the names and addresses of
individuals with medical needs who have a high-risk health condition
that is either temporary or chronic and who cannot manage for
themselves in a shelter or evacuation center; will require assistance
in performing the activities of daily living; and/or will require care
for and the monitoring of a health condition. The Medical Needs
Registry is voluntary and all information collected will be kept
confidential and stored on secure Fairfax County servers.
- The Social Needs Registry is a tool used by Fairfax County to facilitate access to groups in need of specialized communications and/or transportation during an emergency. People with social needs are individuals who are vulnerable, at-risk or hard-to-reach in the event of an emergency but are not medically dependent. This includes people with disabilities, limited language proficiency, public transportation dependent and/or household pets and service animals. The nature of the assistance provided to those people will be determined by the individual, the emergency and the resources available to the county. Organizations assisting those with special needs should register with Fairfax County to ensure the safety and well-being of these individuals in an emergency.
The registry may be used for any emergency requiring evacuation, such as flooding, hurricanes, hazardous material spills and gas leaks. This information will be available to emergency planners and will facilitate the county’s preparedness, response and recovery efforts. However, those who are on the registry should still call 9-1-1 in the event of a life-threatening situation.
To register online, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/specialneeds. Residents may also request registration materials by phone or mail. Call 703-324-9000, or write to the Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management, 4890 Alliance Drive, Suite 2200, Fairfax, VA 22030 for more information.
During a major crisis or emergency, Fairfax County uses the award winning Community Emergency Alert Network (CEAN) to deliver important emergency alerts, notifications and updates. Fairfax County government offers the Medical Needs Registry, the Social Needs Registry and the CEAN as a public service. The registry and CEAN will be used in conjunction with other public notification methods such as Fairfax County Government Channel 16, the Fairfax County Web site, the Fairfax County Emergency Information Line (703-817-7771) and area media. To sign up for the Community Emergency Alert Network, please visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/cean.
Fairfax County residents who need help to pay home heating bills or who face an emergency heating situation this winter may be able to access assistance from two federally funded programs locally administered by the county’s Department of Family Services.
The Fuel Assistance program helps eligible low-income households with the costs of heating their homes. This year, the application period for the fuel assistance program begins on Tuesday, October 14, and closes on Friday, November 14, 2008.
The Crisis Assistance program helps households in emergency situations by providing primary heat security deposits and funding the repair or replacement of heating equipment. The Crisis Assistance application period begins Monday, November 3, 2008, and closes on Monday, March 16, 2009.
To apply for these programs, call the Department of Family Services' energy assistance phone line at 703-324-7604. Applications are also available on the Internet from the Virginia Department of Social Services at www.dss.virginia.gov.
That’s it for this edition of the Fairfax County Health and Safety Podcast, produced by the Fairfax County, Virginia government. Thanks for listening. Additional information about health and safety topics and emergency preparedness may be found online at www.fairfaxcounty.gov.