Special Thanks
The State of Utah would like to thank the following people and agencies for their contribution to the Special Needs Registry. Without their foresight and critical assistance the Special Needs Registry would not have been made possible. On behalf of the State of Utah, we extend our deepest and sincere gratitude to the following:
| Brett Milburn – United Way of Northern Utah Leslie Herold – United Way of Northern Utah Brian Law – Davis County Sheriff Sue Campbell – Davis County Sheriff Jim Buchannan – Brigham City Tervor Price - Weber State University Student Tom Neiswanger - Weber State University Student |
Ben Peterson – VISTA Volunteer Haley Peterson – VISTA Volunteer Michael Kuehn – Director Homeland Security, State of Utah Lance Peterson – Weber County Sheriff Mike Wiebel – Bear River Health |
SNR History
After suffering a major power outage during the Christmas of 2004, emergency planners began to focus on the special needs faced by some citizens in the community. During the power outage, 9-1-1 operators received calls from citizens who were running out of medical oxygen at home. It became critical for Emergency Managers to know where these citizens were in order to assist them.
Later as evacuation planning for wildland fires were being created, and after looking at the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, emergency planners realized that knowing where citizens with special needs are located is critical to a community’s disaster plan. Knowing that there are citizens who can not quickly evacuate an area by themselves, Emergency Managers need a way to identify those with special needs in the community.
This information is invaluable in helping our communities be better prepared to respond to the special needs of some of our citizens. Emergency Managers have realized the benefits of having this type of information in the county and state. With this information, steps can be put into place to develop a plan to help those with special needs in a disaster.
In August of 2006, the State created a web site and database that allows people with special needs to register, listing their personal information for emergency planners. This database outputs reports to those who are involved in emergency planning. While this database is of great assistance to emergency planners, it is no guarantee that help will arrive. This database is not a substitute for personal preparedness.
