In the event of a hurricane, Clay County has one designated Special Needs Shelter. It is located at the Thrasher Horne Conference Center on the campus of St. Johns River Community College on College Drive, Middleburg.
Special needs residents need to register annually to use this pre-designated shelter that is equipped to deal with individuals with special medical needs who can not seek shelter with family or friends if evacuations are necessary during a natural disaster such as a severe hurricane or tornado.
The shelter should be treated as a last resort. As with any shelter, the environment can be challenging, with many people occupying the same space. The only real distinguishing factor between the Special Needs Shelter and a regular shelter is the availability of generated electrical outlets and staffing by nurses from the Clay County Health Department who can provide individuals with medical assistance. Please remember that the county’s designated Special Needs Shelter is not a healthcare facility. It is merely a designated set of rooms that can be converted in a disaster to allow some degree of continuity of personal care.
It is important to understand that this shelter is not for everyone. Many people’s needs are too great for the shelter’s staff and resources to accommodate and most people, despite a medical need, are better suited for a general shelter.
If you think that you could be a potential candidate to use the Special Needs Shelter, Clay County Emergency Management encourages you to fill out a registration form available by calling the Clay County Emergency Management Office at (904)284-8735, or through Clay County’s website at www.claycountygov.com.
Potential candidates should complete this form in its entirety and return it to the Clay County Emergency Management Office. This application submission does NOT mean that you qualify to use the shelter. Once received, the application will be reviewed by Clay County Health Department Nurses who make the determination as to where the best place would be for an applicant during a weather emergency requiring shelter openings.
Following review, applicants will then receive a letter directing them to either use a general shelter, the Special Needs Shelter or, if their needs are too great, a hospital or other healthcare facility.
For further information please call the Clay County Emergency Management Department at (904) 284-8735.
I nice to know our leaders are thinking outside the box. We've been lucky for many years in not getting hit with a hurricane. How about transportation? If these folks have special needs and cant leave, how are they going to get there from say Keystone or South Green Cove?