Hillsborough County: Special needs storm shelter pre-registration opens
Registering for special needs shelters
In Hillsborough County alone, thousands of people were in shelters because of Hurricane Milton. Some of those were in special needs shelters. Now is the time to register if you need to go to one of those shelters. FOX 13's Kylie Jones reports.
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. - Hillsborough County emergency officials are urging residents with medical, physical, or cognitive needs to pre-register for shelters before a future storm.
Hillsborough County storm preparation
What we know:
About 15,000 Hillsborough County residents stayed in the county's shelters during Hurricane Milton in 2024.
About 1,000 of those residents were staying at the county's special needs shelters.
County officials say roughly 75% of the county lost power after the storm hit.
Hillsborough County is able to operate five special needs shelters in coordination with the Florida Department of Health to support residents with cognitive, physical, or medical disabilities.
Special care shelter services
The backstory:
These shelters assist people who need extra and may depend on electricity for medical devices, oxygen tanks, or dialysis equipment.
The shelters provide cots for both residents and their caregivers, along with nurses on staff for medical monitoring and daily assistance.
"We do not provide bedside care," Claire Maher, with the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County said. "We don't operate like a hospital or a nursing home. But we do have nurses on staff to provide that assistance with daily functions and needs and medical monitoring. But any of our clients who come to our shelters, we ask that you bring a caregiver with them."
Residents can pre-register online through the county's website. Pre-registering doesn't reserve you a spot, but it allows the county to contact you and help you get to a shelter during a future storm.
Emergency transit ride options
What you can do:
Residents who need transportation to a special needs shelter can sign up for the Hillsborough County Sunshine Line.
"All of our vehicles are ADA-accessible with lifts, with ramps, wheelchair securements," Jerry Stickney, the Director of the Hillsborough County Sunshine Line said. "We have teams of two that go to pick up every individual."
If a resident is pre-registered for a special needs shelter, they will also be connected with the Sunshine Line if they need transportation to the shelter.
While priority goes to special needs shelter transportation, the Sunshine Line opens a call center during storms to help anyone needing a ride.
What's next:
Hillsborough County also updated its evacuation zones this year. You can find more information here.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from interviews conducted with Claire Maher of the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County, Katja Miller, Operations Section Chief with Hillsborough County Emergency and Jerry Stickney, Director of the Hillsborough County Sunshine Line.