From Deseret News archives:
Program aims to help special needs Utahns
But some of that help depends on whether people with special needs have registered with the Utah Special Needs Registry, an Internet-based tool that allows emergency managers to know specific needs when resources are suddenly scarce.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. announced the creation of the registry in December, and so far, membership in the registry is climbing, albeit slowly. About 480 people and 120 care facilities statewide have their information in the database, said Lisa Cook, a trainer with the Utah Division of Homeland Security.
"We need to be able to have a concept of how many people we have," Cook said.
Seventeen counties and cities can currently access the registrants' information, and a handful of local governments are in the process of applying for access. The information is only to be used by emergency managers in planning for and during an emergency, Cook said.
"It isn't a guarantee that someone is going to show up and save you in the event of an emergency," Millburn said.
Davis County Sheriff's Sgt. Sue Campbell, the county's emergency manager, said residents are responsible for making sure their information stays updated so responders don't waste precious time going to wrong addresses.
The registry was developed for northern Utah by the Northern Utah Citizen Corps Council, which is part of a national Citizen Corps, an organization designed to help coordinate volunteer activities to make communities safer. The Utah organizers pitched the idea to the Utah Division of Homeland Security, which made it a statewide program.
People with special needs can register or update their information two ways: by going to www.specialneedsutah.org or by calling 211. Relay users may call 1-888-826-9790.
Registrants are asked what kind of impairment they have, contact information for a doctor and what help they may need in an emergency.
"Who knows when a big earthquake is going to happen in Utah," Campbell said.
E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com
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