Fort Myers Senior AdvisorWhat should Lee County seniors living at home do before hurricane season?
Know your evacuation zone, register with the Florida special needs registry through Lee County Emergency Management if help is needed to evacuate or electricity is needed for medical equipment, keep two weeks of medications and copies of prescriptions, and decide in advance where you will go.
Many older residents of Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Pine Island and the canal neighborhoods of Cape Coral live in zones that are ordered out first. Staying with family inland, in Lehigh Acres or outside the county, is usually safer than a shelter.
What happened to Lee County care facilities during Hurricane Ian?
Hurricane Ian made landfall on Cayo Costa in Lee County on September 28, 2022, with catastrophic storm surge on Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and parts of Fort Myers and Cape Coral, and facilities in the region evacuated or sheltered residents in place while losing power and, in places, water.
Families learned that a facility's plan matters as much as its building. Ask any community where its residents went during Ian and how families were kept informed.
What emergency power must Lee County ALFs and nursing homes have?
Florida rules 59A-36.025 for ALFs and 59A-4.1265 for nursing homes require an alternate power source and fuel to keep indoor temperatures at or below 81 degrees for at least 96 hours after a power loss.
59 of Lee County's 84 licensed ALFs report a fixed generator in their AHCA emergency power data, 38 of the 43 with 17 or more beds; each of our facility pages shows what the profile reports. Read our emergency power guide for what to ask.
What should families of a Lee County facility resident do when a storm approaches?
Call the facility early to confirm whether it will evacuate or shelter in place, where residents will go, how medications travel, and how you will be contacted; update the facility with your current phone numbers and an out-of-area contact.
If you plan to take your parent out of the facility yourself, tell staff in advance and take the medication list and supplies for at least a week.
Does Medicare or Medicaid help with hurricane evacuations?
Medicare and Medicaid do not pay for evacuation travel, but during a declared emergency Medicare lets patients get prescriptions refilled early, and Medicaid plans must keep services going and may help members find alternate providers.
After a storm, the Area Agency on Aging's Elder Helpline (1-866-413-5337) connects older adults to emergency meals, home repairs and other recovery help.
The short version
| A hurricane plan for an older adult includes | A hurricane plan for an older adult does not rely on | |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | The special needs registry, renewed each year | Calling 911 during the storm |
| Medications | Two weeks of supply and a printed list | Pharmacies reopening quickly |
| Facility | Written answers about evacuation and power | Assuming the building will be fine |
Built from Chapters 400, 408, 429 and 651 of the Florida Statutes, Fla. Admin. Code chapters 59A-4, 59A-36 and 65A-2, and AHCA, DCF, OIR, Elder Affairs, CMS, VA and CareScout publications cited on the page; see our editorial standards.
