The devastating wildfires that are ravaging Los Angeles are a stark reminder of how vulnerable older adults can be during disasters. Tragically, some elders who were mobility challenged or who had no transportation to allow them to escape, lost their lives in those fires. This highlights the critical need for proactive disaster preparedness. If your aging loved ones anywhere have mobility issues, cognitive impairments, vision or hearing loss, this subject of preparedness needs your close attention. Here are some thoughts from lessons we learn in these disasters:
Understand Aging Parents’ Unique Needs
Start by assessing your parents’ specific situation:
Health conditions: Do they require medications, oxygen, or medical equipment? Could they get that equipment and medication out in the process of a rushed evacuation order?
Mobility: Are they able to walk? Could they move quickly or will they need assistance? What assistance would be available on short notice?
Cognitive health: Are they able to follow emergency instructions or will they need someone to guide them? Many elders with declining cognitive ability, often described by family as “a few memory problems” will become easily confused and unable to heed emergency alerts.
2. Build an Emergency Kit or “Go Bag”
Help your parents assemble a disaster kit tailored to their needs. This is something they or any assistant can grab in an emergency, such as a fire. One does not have to think about it or be paralyzed by fear under pressure to move fast. A duffel bag, rolling small suitcase or backpack are helpful for creating their go bag. Essential items can include:
Medications and medical supplies: A 7-day supply of all necessary medications, along with a list of all prescriptions. Ask their physician to give you/them an extra refill of prescription medication to keep in the “Go Bag”.
Personal documents: Copies of IDs, Social Security cards, insurance cards, and a list of emergency contacts. Store all that is possible digitally and keep in the cloud. However, when someone must get to a shelter or safe place, access to the cloud may not be immediately available. Paper copies in an envelope in the go bag can help.
Basic supplies: Water, non-perishable food, a flashlight, batteries, and a first-aid kit. These can be necessary when a person is stranded after evacuation and must wait to be rescued.
Extras of what they need daily: Hearing aids, glasses, mobility aids, etc. can be put in or with the go bag when speed of exiting the home with minimal notice is necessary.
Toiletries and Hygiene items: Toothbrush, toothpaste, denture cleaner, grooming and hygiene items, can help a person with a little self-care when an emergency happens and they have fled their home. Incontinence products can be stored in the go bag for those aging parents who need them.
3. Create a Communication Plan
Communication is critical during a disaster, but it can also be challenging when phone lines or internet services are down. Work with your parents to develop a plan that includes:
Emergency contacts: Ensure they have a list, including family, friends, and neighbors, with all phone numbers. Keep a paper copy in the go bag. In the stress and confusion of escaping danger, it is easy for anyone, especially elders, to forget how to reach those who can help them.
Designated meeting points: Identify safe locations where family members can reunite if separated. If you are at a distance from aging loved ones, find out what shelter or other place they would be evacuated to in an emergency. The police and fire departments in the county where they live will have this information
If your parents live in a retirement community, inquire about their evacuation policies and procedures and the locations to which they would take residents in an emergency. This is necessary for you to know if your parents are in assisted living or a nursing home, as the administrators in these residents are required to have emergency plans.
Know Your Parents’ “Neighbors
Establish relationships with nearby residents who can assist in an emergency. When you visit aging loved ones, knock on neighbors’ doors if your parents don’t know their neighbors or have a friendship with them. Introduce yourself. Offer your contact information in case of emergency. Get their contact information too. If you know your aging parents could not rush out under an evacuation order, ask if those who live nearby would be willing to help them. This is particularly necessary if your own aging parents do not have a car or other means of getting out quickly.
Takeaways:
1. No one is immune from disasters, as we see across the country more often than ever.
2. Do not take it for granted that aging parents are fully prepared and will know what to do in the event of a natural disaster.
3. Ask what preparation they have done. Go through the suggestions above and ensure that the go bag is ready. Keep it in an easy to find place. Let any helpers know where to find it.
4. Review the disaster preparedness plan with them. Practice with them so they can understand how it can work and what they need to do.
When you have done all you can to help aging loved ones be prepared, you know you are affording them their best chance of survival in a disaster.