Seniors Emergency Plan
If you or someone close to you is elderly, you may have to take additional steps to protect yourself and your family in an emergency. Those with disabilities should take extra precautions to prepare in advance. Disability emergency kits should last for seven days, and a strong support network is critical.
- Make a list of prescription medicines including dosage, treatment and allergy information. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor about what else you need to prepare.
- Consider other personal needs such as eyeglasses, hearing aids and hearing aid batteries, wheelchair batteries, and oxygen.
- If you undergo routine treatments administered by a clinic or hospital or if you receive regular services such as home health care, treatment or transportation, talk to your service provider about their emergency plans. Work with them to identify back-up service providers and incorporate them into your personal support network.
- Make sure everyone in your support network knows where you keep your emergency kit and plan.
- Wear medical alert tags or bracelets to help identify your disability.
- Add disability-specific items to your emergency supply kits such as extra medication, food, water, batteries and battery chargers for assistive technology devices. Carry emergency health information at all times including details about your disability, medications, allergies, assistive technology devices, durable medical equipment .
- Create an emergency preparedness buddy plan (include attendants, readers, interpreters, family, friends, neighbors) with people who know about your medications, how to operate assistive technology devices and the location of your emergency supply kits.
Learn more:
- Visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency for special needs planning tips.
- Check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) section on caregivers and older adults.
- Get specific emergency planning tips for seniors and caregivers at Ready.gov.
- Check out the full range of disability preparedness resources at the Disability Preparedness Resource Center.
- Get specific emergency tips for the disabled and caregivers at California’s Department of Rehabilitation.
- Find a list of extra supplies for a disabled emergency kit at Ready.gov’s section on those with disabilities.
- Get information for specific disabilities at National Organization on Disability.
