Special Care for the Elderly and Disabled During Weather Emergencies

As a counselor for people with disabilities and a life-care planner for the elderly, I have had opportunities to consult with people in preparing for disasters. People with special needs require special preparation especially with the storm season approaching.

When I worked with disaster victims at the Red Cross shelter in Natchitoches, Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina, I found a number of individuals with special handicaps who didn't have proper medication and other resources. These are the first things that need to be in place in preparation for disaster emergency.

Dr. Jeff Kalina, who is the associate director of emergency medicine with The Methodist Hospital in Houston, maintains medication is particularly important to plan for especially in cases when a storm forces drug stores to close for several days. That's what happened during Hurricane Katrina, for example, so it's essential that people with disabilities and those needing medications to have extra refills of medications on hand. Furthermore keeping a list of what medications person is taking is all too important in the event there is a medical emergency where a physician needs to diagnose a condition.

Family members need to be particularly aware of the special needs of their elderly relatives. Folks need to know that individuals with disabling conditions will need extra attention during any type of the evacuation. As a life care planner, I often recommended to families that they have a portable ramp in the event a person with special needs needed to get down the stairs quickly. Sometimes the simple things can make a difference.

Doctors like Jeff Kalina maintain it's important to make sure older people sit in the front of the car in the middle of summer rather than the back because they are more at risk for dehydration and heat exhaustion. It's also important to have plenty of water on hand and some ice or a fan that can cool a person off in the event at traffic is stalled.

I have reminded my clients who have diabetes and circulatory problems they are at more risk when they are sedentary for long periods without exercise. So it's important when an individual has to sit in the car for hours to have some kind of exercise even if it is flexing muscles,and moving arms and legs in place which can help. Encourage the person to walk around for a few minutes, briefly and intermittently if he or she can, in order to improve circulation.

One thing people learned during Hurricane Katrina, especially those who are helping in the transition, is the need to evacuate early in order to prevent extraordinary delays in being on the road trying to figure out where to go. That's what happened with the number of people on their way to the hurricane shelter in Natchitoches, Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I heard stories of people being on the road for hours, being stuck in traffic, and becoming sick on the road to the shelter. So adequate preparation for an emergency needs to be taken in advance, not when the emergency is at hand.

Here are some tips if you have to stay in place and ride out the hurricane, which are a composite of my own suggestions, those of Dr. Kalina and FEMA.

(l) Put together a survival kit to include a battery-operated radio, battery operated flashlight can food and at least 3 gallons of water per person.

(2) Make sure there are manual can openers in a hurricane kit, the gas tank is full, and the cell phone charged.

(3) Sign up for text messaging because of cell phone towers are down messages may still be able to get through.

(4) Keep backup medication on hand.

(5) Make sure property is protected with plywood to secure windows. (

6) Don't venture outside nor use candles because they may be a fire hazard.

(7) Look for downed power lines and listen to radio broadcasts.

FEMA has information folks should read before the hurricane season starts in earnest. Arranging for meeting places, turning off utilities, and taking the types of precautions listed above are important.

I would add to this list what is often called comfort items, stuffed toy games or a favorite object of some kind. Books for those who read or enjoy reading can be helpful especially during long waits. Put in the hurricane preparation kit a few tasty items that are nonperishable. These too can be of comfort during critical periods.

Hurricane season begins the month of June. Experts have found that the levees are insufficient to protect the city of New Orleans this year. Proper preparation is particularly important in coastal areas from Florida through Texas. It's best to get prepared now, rather than wait when it's too late, especially if you have people who are elderly or disabled in need of special help.

Sources

Jeff Kalina
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/553048/
Hurricane Tips from Methodist Hospital in Houston

FEMA
philadelphia.about.com/cs/weathe1/a/hurricane.htm
Surviving the Storm - a Guide to Hurricane Preparedness by FEMA