Highland Park, IL, March 18, 2011 – Freedom Home Care, one of the fastest growing and respected home care organizations in Chicago joined forces with CHUG to produce a video that demonstrates the techniques and equipment that is available for use in a patient evacuation as well as patient movement techniques that should be utilized for a safe and smooth evacuation.
“CHUG had planned to produce this video prior to the devastation in Japan, but now watching the horrific scenes from the earthquake and tsunami it’s even more important,” said Jenanne Rock, Freedom Home Care’s Agency Manager and CHUG Board Member. “You never know when disaster will strike and it’s critical to be prepared.”
On Monday, March 14th, Freedom Home Care along with Brentwood North, Greek American Home, CHUG Board members, Stryker and other volunteers worked to produce a video that will be used in training and workshops to educate facility employees and individuals on patient movement techniques for moving patients during a disaster. The video will also be available for everyone on YouTube and Facebook.
CHUG will also put together a class on evacuation techniques and patient movement for healthcare facilities who provide services to residents or patients with functional needs.
“Thinking it won’t happen here in Illinois is a big mistake,” Jenanne continued. “Disasters don’t all have to be major media events like Japan’s earthquake or Hurricane Katrina. A couple year
s ago a long-term facility was struck by lightning which caused the evacuation of 90 patients. This training is important for the safety of those patients.”
About CHUG
CHUG, Collaborative Healthcare Urgency Group is a nonprofit organization that was formed to address a significant gap in local disaster planning, specifically, the absence of a comprehensive and integrated community wide evacuation plan for Health Care Facilities. The CHUG plan was developed to provide a mutual aid system that addresses the health care issues that an individual with functional needs may encounter during an evacuation, transportation and relocation as a result of an emergency, disaster or other urgent event. The organization collaborates with local government, public safety, hospitals, home health, transportation providers, health departments and other support organizations.
Additional resources are available on CHUGs website at: www.chugteam.org
About Freedom Home Care
Freedom Home Care is one of the board members active and involved in supporting the mission of the CHUG organization. The company is headquartered in Highland Park, Illinois, is a premier home care company that services the greater Chicagoland Area and Southern Wisconsin. Home care services range from post-hospital care, day surgery companion care and supportive care, to daily home visits for meal preparation, personal care, companionship and other needs.
