If you are managing a health issue, or caring for someone who is, planning ahead is key to maintaining care during a crisis. Say Ah!’s tips can help!
- Start Today: Things can happen with little or no warning, so take steps now to manage your health and health care in an emergency
- Have an Emergency Contact Team: You should have at least 3 emergency contacts, and one or more of those should be out of the area
- Pull Together Important Documents: Keep a file of up-to-date health-related documents for every member of the household, include: a medication list, a detailed health history, a copy of your insurance card and photo I.D., and a list of all of your doctors, care providers and emergency contacts
- Keep Important Documents Safe and Easy to Find: Put your documents in a waterproof container and keep it in an easy to reach place. Also, make digital copies and store them online. Email and mail copies to those on your emergency contact list
- Personalize Your Medical Kit: Make sure your kit has what you need to manage your health. Also include the basics, such as contact lens solution
- Keep Your Medications and Medical Devices Safe and Have a Good Supply: Put your medications in a waterproof container, and have at least 10 days worth of what you need. Make sure any medical devices you use, like an inhaler or glucose monitor, is safe and also in a waterproof container
- Make an Emergency Plan with Your Health Care Team: Find out what to do if can’t get services and/or if the power goes out, especially if you receive in-home care. Speak to your doctor, pharmacist or poison control to learn how to handle your medications during the emergency, especially if any needs refrigeration
- Make an Evacuation Plan that Meets Your Needs: If you need to get to health care or it needs to come to you, go to a safe place even if you are not being told to evacuate. If your health depends on on-going care, find a place where you can get it
- Buddy Up: Ask a trusted neighbor or friend who lives close by to check on you and help you if needed. This person should have a key to your home, a list of your medications, emergency contacts and a list of your doctors. Be sure you have this person’s cell number, and that you have a plan in place
- Get Medical Help if You Need It: Always seek medical care if there’s a change in your health (such as breathing difficulty, a cut that has been exposed to flood water, etc.)
Learn more about emergency planning by going to: http://www.ready.gov/ and/or http://www.redcross.org/. For weather alerts, go to: http://www.noaa.gov/. For Poison Control: http://www.aapcc.org/.
Say Ah!’s Emergency Preparedness Tips™ was made possible by a grant from the Allstate Foundation. Say Ah! gratefully acknowledges the Allstate Foundation for its support.