Little Rock Senior AdvisorBy Little Rock Senior Advisor Care Team · November 6, 2026
Ask any assisted living building or nursing home where residents shelter during a tornado warning, how night staff move people who cannot walk, what the generator powers and for how long, how the building stays cool if power fails in summer, and how families are told. At home, plan for medications, power-dependent equipment and a check-in schedule.
Why plan for weather in central Arkansas?
Central Arkansas sits in a busy part of the country for severe storms. Tornado warnings come in spring and late fall, often at night, and the March 2023 tornado that crossed west Little Rock, Jacksonville and North Little Rock was a reminder that the metro is not immune. Ice storms can bring down lines for days, and summer heat is dangerous for older adults when air conditioning fails.
For a parent in a care setting, the building's plan carries most of the load. For a parent at home, the family's plan does.
What must a nursing home have?
Federal certification rules require every CMS-certified nursing home to keep an emergency plan with procedures for sheltering in place and evacuating, arrangements for backup power, communication plans and staff training. Ask to see the plan's summary, and ask specifically where residents go during a tornado warning and how staff move residents who cannot walk, especially on a night shift.
Ask what the generator runs. Some power only life-safety systems; others keep heating and cooling, refrigeration and medical equipment going.
What should we ask an assisted living building?
| Question | A good answer sounds like |
|---|---|
| Where do residents shelter in a tornado warning? | A named interior space, with a drill schedule |
| How are residents who cannot walk moved at night? | A specific plan for the overnight staff on duty |
| What does the generator power, and for how long? | Specific systems and hours of fuel |
| How do you keep residents cool if power fails in summer? | Cooling areas and a heat plan |
| How will you contact families? | A call list or text system, tested |
| Where would residents go if the building must be evacuated? | Named host sites and transport |
Arkansas's assisted living rules tie admission to whether staff can evacuate each resident. That makes the emergency plan a fair question about your own parent, not just the building.
How do we plan for a parent living at home?
Keep a two-week supply of medications where possible and a written list of them. If your parent uses oxygen, a powered bed or other equipment, plan for backup power and ask the utility whether it keeps a medical priority list. Identify the safest interior room for a tornado warning and make sure your parent can get there quickly, or arrange for someone who can help.
Agree on a check-in schedule for storms and heat waves, and give a neighbor a key. A weather radio with an alarm helps a parent who does not keep a phone nearby at night.
What about extreme heat?
Older adults lose the ability to sense and regulate heat, and many medications make it worse. If a parent's air conditioning fails in July, it is an emergency, not an inconvenience. Ask buildings how they monitor resident temperatures during outages, and for a parent at home, know where the nearest cooling center is and who can bring a portable unit.
Where do we turn after a disaster?
For a parent in a facility, call the building first, then the long-term care ombudsman if you cannot get answers. For a parent at home, CareLink at (501) 372-5300 and county emergency management can point to local help. Report any facility that leaves residents in unsafe conditions to the Office of Long Term Care at 1-800-582-4887.
What paperwork should families keep ready?
Keep a one-page sheet for each parent with medications and doses, allergies, diagnoses, doctors' names and numbers, insurance and Medicare numbers, and the names of a health care agent and a financial agent. Keep it on paper and on a phone. If a parent is evacuated from a facility or taken to a hospital during a storm, that sheet speeds everything up.
Make sure the building has current phone numbers for at least two family members, and that someone in the family knows where powers of attorney and advance directives are kept.
How do we check a nursing home's emergency record?
CMS's inspection reports include emergency preparedness findings, and our nursing home pages show each home's latest inspection date and deficiency count. Ask the administrator whether the last survey cited anything about the emergency plan, generator testing or drills, and what was corrected. For assisted living, ask for the last Office of Long Term Care survey, which covers fire safety and evacuation readiness, and ask when the building last held a tornado drill on the night shift.
Frequently asked questions
Do nursing homes need an emergency plan?
Yes. CMS requires an emergency plan with sheltering, evacuation, backup power and communication arrangements.
What should we ask about generators?
What the generator powers and how many hours of fuel are on hand.
Where do residents shelter in a tornado?
Ask the building for its named interior shelter space and drill schedule.
What is the biggest summer risk?
Heat when air conditioning fails; ask how the building cools residents during outages.
Who can help after a storm?
The building, the long-term care ombudsman, CareLink and county emergency management.
