Press Release
HSA Prepared
Hurricane Preparedness:
Be Prepared for a Medical Emergency
The HSA is Not a Shelter
The George Town Hospital is not a shelter. Cayman Islands Health Services Authority facilities, including district health centres, are not general hurricane shelters for the public. If you need shelter, please go to a district hurricane shelter.
Emergency Medical Centres (EMCs)
There are seven Emergency Medical Centres (EMCs) in Grand Cayman and two in the Sister Islands.
GRAND CAYMAN
- Prospect Primary School
- West Bay Primary School
- North Side Civic Centre
- Bodden Town Primary School
- Clifton Hunter High School
- East End Civic Centre
- Savannah Primary School
SISTER ISLANDS
- Aston Rutty Centre (Cayman Brac)
- Public Works Department Building (Little Cayman)
These centres will be used to provide medical services during a hurricane and are equipped to provide care shelter with appropriate bedding, staffing, equipment, power sources, and supplies for patients in the community who need some assistance with their daily activities.
If a caregiver is needed, the caregiver from the home is expected to accompany and remain with the person at the shelter. Persons who go to the EMC should take their medication and any other required supplies with them.
Who Should Go To an EMC
EMCs are for those with:
Persons who should go to EMCs
- Oxygen-dependent
- Ventilator dependent
- Wheelchair-bound persons with medical needs
- Individuals with severely reduced mobility
- Persons with mental illness who are non-violent
- Medically impaired individuals who can maintain
activities of daily living with special assistance, such as:- paralysis,
- colostomy,
- tracheostomy,
- asthmatic persons
- Persons with dementia who cannot be maintained at a regular shelter
- Pregnant women* who have not yet reached their estimated delivery date (EDD)
These persons must be accompanied by a family member or caregiver.
EMCs will be used to provide care in the community after a hurricane should the Health Centres and/or Hospitals be affected, or roads remain impassable.
Emergency Medical Services
- Emergency medical treatment is available at the Cayman Islands Hospital and at all designated Emergency Medical Centres located in public shelters.
- During a hurricane, emergency calls are responded to on an individual basis depending on risk assessment. Treatment should only be sought for medical emergencies
- EMS vehicles do not operate in tropical force winds, which are deemed unsafe for you and the EMS responders.
- Label and secure all important medications in a watertight storage container so they can be readily available and easy for the EMS responders to find.
- To avoid carbon monoxide poisoning, generators must be properly vented and should not be used indoors or in confined spaces.
Instructions to residents about making their house numbers visible for 911 (eg on shutters):
Your street address numbers are so much more than aesthetics, they ensure that police, firefighters, paramedics or animal control are able to find you as quickly as possible, day or night, when in crisis.
- If you live in a single-family house, your address numbers should be placed on or beside the front door and big enough to see at night, contrasting in colour, lit or reflective.
- If your door is not within view, attach numbers on a post, front gate, fence or a tree at the driveway entrance.
- Always keep objects, such as parked vehicles, play equipment or seasonal décor from obscuring the view of your house number.
Medication Supply
- During hurricane season, keep an extra two-week supply of your current medication. Additional supplies will not be provided if you have refilled your prescription within two weeks of a storm warning.
- If you have not refilled your chronic medication in the last three months or longer, please visit your doctor. You will require a new prescription.
- Protect your medications by securing them in an airtight, watertight plastic container, or a zip-lock bag.
- During hurricane season, ensure you have an extra 2 weeks of supply of your current medication.
- Keep these additional medications in the container and do not use them, unless necessary. Use any additional medications at the end of the hurricane season.
- Store medications in a cool, dry place and only refrigerate those labeled 'for the fridge' or ‘refrigerate’.
Documentation
Don’t be caught empty-handed when illness or disaster strikes – having the right documentation can save your life!
If overseas treatment is needed
- Even when URGENT medical care is needed, immigration authorities still require the proper documentation. Without it, most countries will refuse admission.
- Always have travel documents for yourself and your family in order – it can be critical to saving precious lives
- Ensure that you have the correct and valid travel documents such as a passport, COVID-19 vaccination card and visa to enter the US, UK, Jamaica, or any other likely destination
- Check the expiration date of your passport and visa(s) – you should have at least six months left before the expiration date
- If you hold a Caymanian passport, contact the Passport Office to have your passport renewed if not current; For queries relating to your visa and or passport requirements please contact the Passport Office directly at (345) 949-8344 option 6.
Medical Advice for Vulnerable Patients
The safety and well-being of our patients come first. Remember this medical advice for our vulnerable patients in the event of a hurricane or tropical storm.
Expectant Mothers
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Oncology Patients
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Dialysis Patients
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