Lakeland Senior AdvisorWhat should we ask a Polk County ALF about hurricanes?
Ask whether the building has a fixed generator and what it powers, especially air conditioning, how many hours of fuel are on site, where residents would evacuate and how, and how families are kept informed; AHCA profiles report each facility's generator and emergency power data.
32 of the 43 licensed ALFs in Polk County report a fixed generator in their AHCA emergency power data, and each facility page in our directory says whether one is reported.
Must Florida facilities keep residents cool after a power failure?
Yes: since 2018 Florida rules have required nursing homes and assisted living facilities to maintain emergency power plans that keep indoor temperatures safe for at least 96 hours after an outage.
Ask how the plan covers your parent's own wing, not only the lobby and dining room.
How should seniors living at home in Polk County prepare?
Keep two weeks of medications and supplies, plan for days without power (heat, refrigerated medicines, oxygen), know which nearby roads and neighborhoods flood, register with Polk County Emergency Management's special needs program if you depend on electricity or need help, and share the plan with family before June 1.
Polk County has no storm-surge zones, but low-lying areas near lakes, creeks and the Peace River have flooded in past storms, and mobile homes are unsafe in hurricane-force wind anywhere in the county.
Can a parent stay at an assisted living facility during a storm?
Some ALFs take short respite stays that can be booked ahead of a storm if a room is free, but rooms fill quickly once a storm is forecast, so arrange it early in the season.
Choose a facility with a fixed generator and confirm the arrangement in writing.
Does a facility evacuation cost residents extra?
It can; check how the contract handles evacuation costs, and ask how the facility moves medications, records and equipment so care continues at the receiving site.
Facilities that shelter in place depend on their generators and the 96-hour cooling requirement.
How does Polk County's special needs registry work?
Polk County Emergency Management keeps a registry for residents who depend on electricity or need help with daily care during an emergency, which is used to plan special needs shelter space and assistance.
Register before June 1 and update the registration if needs change.
What belongs in an older adult's storm kit?
A medication list with doses and two weeks' supply, copies of insurance cards and powers of attorney, glasses, hearing aid batteries, chargers, several days of food and water, and phone numbers for doctors and family.
Keep it by the door from June through November.
Built from Chapters 408, 429 and 651, Florida Statutes; Florida Administrative Code chapters 59A-36 and 65A-2; AHCA, DCF, OIR and Department of Elder Affairs publications; and the CareScout and VA rate tables cited on this page. Our editorial standards explain how each figure is checked.
