People with Special Needs

 Prepare the secure room and the access route to it ahead of time, taking into consideration your needs and limitations.

Make sure that all essential objects and pieces of equipment (TV, phone, fax, computer, tape recorder and cassettes, glasses, contact lenses, mobility equipment, guide-stick, et al) meant for the person with special needs and the people around him/her are close by and charged. Equip yourself with spare batteries.

It is recommended that you set up a permanent location for sleeping adjusted to your special needs in the secure room.

Most Important!

Time how long it takes the person with special needs to get to the secure room.

If s/he/you need more than one minute to reach the secure room, locate another secure area that is closer.

Emotional support hotlines are operated by ERAN (Emotional First Aid by Telephone) and NATAL (Israel Trauma Center for Victims of Terror and War). Emotional health clinics throughout the country operate 24 hrs. a day as trauma centers for urgent intervention, while maintaining close contacts with municipal hotlines.

General hospital emergency rooms maintain a site for dealing with psychological stress 24 hrs. a day.

• Make sure to include a list of medications that you are not allowed to take.
• Make sure to have an ample supply of medication on hand.
• If you are a shut-in: Ahead of time, make sure that your name appears on the list of the health bureau, social services, and the Health Maintenance Organization (Kupat Holim) in your area. Alternately, enlist the help of someone who can outfit you as needed.

Remember! The clinics of the various HMOs (Kupot Holim) and pharmacies are open during states of emergency, and it is possible to be treated there and to renew your supply of medications.

• People over the age of 16 with a hearing loss of at least 50 decibels are eligible for a pager. For details, please contact AHA (The Association of the Deaf in Israel). If you are not eligible for a pager, you can connect your personal pager to the emergency channel of the Home Front Command through the “Beeper” hotline at 03-6106666. Messages will also be disseminated via SMS (text messages) by BEKOL (The Organization of the Hearing Impaired).
• It is best to have a contact person and interpreter who will stay with you in the secure room.
• In terms of electrical capacity, make sure that the room you have chosen can simultaneously handle all your appliances, and that there are enough electrical outlets and a TV hook-up.
• Equip the secure room you have chosen with your unique aids such as hearing aids, cleaning apparatus, and spare batteries, a TV set with amplification (if available) and a power pack for the amplification system, a fax machine with spare paper and ink, an SMS device and a charger, a pager and batteries, a computer with internet connection (if this is in regular use), a surge protector with multiple outlets, a notebook and pens/pencils, a card with important information (e.g., “I only read lips”), as well as an available alert system (e.g., a baby cry monitor, a phone ring alert, fax machine, alarm system, amplification or blinking lights to alert you to the doorbell or knocking, a distress button, whistle or bell to summon help).

Most Important!

Make sure that you can react to knocking at your door using an amplification system, or some kind of signaling/signage. On the door, make a note for security forces that your are hearing impaired or deaf.

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·         Ahead of time, set up the secure room and the route to it with maximum accessibility and convenience in mind. Move all objects that may hinder motion out of the way.

• People who rely on guide dogs:
• Prepare all of the dog’s supplies (food, water, cloth and newsprint for cleaning, and plastic bags for feces) inn the secure room you have chosen.
• For the blind, prepare a card that includes the following information: first and last names, ID no., HMO (Kupat Holim) and attending physician, name of aide, list of medications taken regularly, blood type, special needs, allergies/sensitivities, important medical information, phone numbers of family members.
• For the dog, prepare an emergency kit to last at least seven days. Include a favorite toy, a leash and muzzle, a collapsible bowl for food and water, and other equipment as needed.
• Include a photocopy of the dog’s most recent vaccination records and a valid license. Store these in a fire- and water-proof container. Make sure the dog wears an identifying tag with his and his owner’s name, or have a micro-chip implanted in him.
• Keep a photograph of your guide dog.

·         Choose a secure room that allows easy entry and convenient stay. Ahead of time, set up the secure room and the route to it with maximum accessibility and convenience in mind. Move all objects that may hinder motion out of the way.

·         If you use a wheelchair or motorized cart, make sure you have spare batteries on hand.

·         Be prepared for a flat tire. Keep a tire repair kit on hand for patching holes and filling the tire with air as needed. Alternately, keep spare inner tubes and a pump on hand.

·         Prepare a pair of heavy-duty gloves for maneuvering across difficult terrain.

·         Take advantage of technical resources that can help you prepare the secure room and stay in it. For details, contact the nearest branch of Yad Sarah or MILBAT (The Israel Center for Technology and Accessibility).

·         Make sure your emergency supplies bag can be attached to your wheelchair / walker / motorized cart. Mark the bag with your personal information.

Remember!     

A situation in which you will not be able to use the elevator is an eventuality. Be prepared for a contingency in which you will have to be carried without your wheelchair. Ahead of time, arrange for help, and practice for this type of emergency.

·         Clinics and rehab units in the community are prepared to give both routine and urgent care.

·         Seek the advice of your support person / attending physician, preferably in the setting where you normally seek help / are treated. It is a good idea to connect with various relevant chat rooms.

·         If you find yourself far from your place of residence, you can locate a psychiatric clinic or emergency room by calling the ERAN hotline or by visiting the website of the Ministry of Health: www.health.gov.il/units/mental

·         Make sure you have an ample supply of medications, a spare prescription, and documents pertaining to your treatment.

·         It is a good idea to practice the necessary steps of entering and staying in a secure room and proper behavior during an emergency with the impaired person.

·         It is important that the care-taker prepare an emergency plan in case of an alert and prolonged stay in a secure space that adequately takes into account the type of impairment and the particular needs of the impaired person in his/her care.

·         Medications, necessary devices and personal possessions of significance should be prepared ahead of time.

·         Prepare spare sets of clothing, items of personal hygiene, etc.

·         It is important to try to create a calm atmosphere in the secure space, and to see to it that the impaired person has some pleasurable and reassuring activity to do.

Please bring announcements in different languages in the media (this site, REKA radio station, channel 33, and the website of the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption) to the attention of your foreign home health care attendant.