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One hospice facility evacuates.

An unusual late season hurricane mixed with winter storm weather left many home care and hospice providers falling back on their emergency preparedness plans in a reminder to all agencies to keep such plans up to date.

Hurricane Sandy devastated some parts of New York and surrounding areas while leaving others relatively unscathed. But in advance of the storm, home health agencies and hospices all up and down the Eastern seaboard prepared for the worst.

For example: Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson, Md. ordered extra supplies of medication for patients and planned to be prepared to visit dying patients even as the storm worsened, reports The Baltimore Sun newspaper. They had moved at least one patient who gets care at home to an inpatient facility to cut down on the risk of complications.

"When you have 600 patients, you have someone at any given time who is actively dying," Gilchrist's Regina Bodnar told the newspaper. "Our goal is to attend 100 percent of deaths."

The hospice planned to have workers strategically located at its area offices. Four-wheel drive vehicles would be available for workers to get out.

Some providers saw their emergency plans put into action. Connecticut Hospice in Branford, Ct. underwent an evacuation, according to press re-ports. The fire department evacuated all patients to St. Raphael's and Yale-New Haven Hospital.

HHH Medicare Administrative Contractor Palmetto GBA sent a listserv message assuring providers it would help with any disruptions caused by Hurricane Sandy. The message included information on electronic claims processing, contacting customer service, and more.