Pender County urges residents with special needs to use registry

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Pender County residents who require special sheltering accommodations during natural disasters should sign up for the Pender County Special Needs Registry.

“The registry provides county staff with contact information for special needs individuals before an emergency to ensure they have a safe place to go and a way to get there,” said Carolyn Moser, director of Pender County Health & Human Services. “Being listed in the registry doesn’t mean you have to go to a shelter, but it does make us aware of your possible need for safe sheltering.”

The Special Needs Registry is open to any resident of Pender County who needs special sheltering accommodations because of medical, mental, or physical conditions.

You can register online here.

Applicants to the registry will be contacted by the Pender County Health Department staff to determine their sheltering needs.

Dialysis patients, bedbound patients and patients with senile dementia are just a few of the illnesses that create eligibility for the Special Needs Registry. Other health issues include mental illness, and Alzheimer’s patients without behavioral problems. Patients using bolus tube feeding, and those with indwelling urinary catheters may be candidates for special needs.

“Residents with uncomplicated, stable conditions who are ambulatory, or wheelchair mobile are not eligible since they can be accommodated in general population shelters,” said Moser.

In the event of a hurricane, residents requiring advanced care, like ventilators or intravenous therapy should decide through their physician regarding admission to a hospital or nursing home during hurricanes.

Residents of nursing homes or assisted living facilities and group homes do not have to register because the facilities are required to provide safe shelter.

“We encourage residents with serious illnesses to stay with family or friends,” said Moser. “But in the event of moving to a shelter, you will be required to have a caregiver who will stay with the patient in a shelter.”