Emergencies happen. They happen all the time.
And the one thing that quantifies them as emergencies is you aren’t planning for them.
You don’t expect them to happen. Yet, they happen all the same. If your family is not prepared for an emergency, especially when a senior requires extra care, a lot can go wrong.
Right now is the perfect opportunity to sit down and figure out a plan in the event of different types of emergencies.
What kind of emergencies might you have to plan for?
One of the most obvious or commonplace involves weather-related emergencies. Depending on where a senior lives in the country, he or she might face limited or significant emergencies on a regular basis.
In Florida and regions of the Southeast, hurricanes between June and November are a serious problem. So are tornadoes, especially when severe storms are on the horizon.
Just about everywhere in the country could be subjected to torrential downpours, mudslides after a long drought, fires, and more. The northern region has to deal with snow, blizzards, nor’easters, ice, high humidity, and its share of high wind events and heavy rains.
But whether it’s just one emergency you might have to plan for, another one may involve a medical emergency.
Does the senior have chronic health issues?
If he or she does, then the likelihood of a potential medical emergency may be much higher than for somebody who is in relatively decent health, regardless of their age.
Being prepared means knowing how to act and react during different types of situations. If the senior needs to evacuate due to a weather-related emergency, where will they go? How will they get there? How will you contact them?
These are things you should sit down and go over while the world is relatively calm at the moment.
What about for a medical emergency? Is there a directive so that doctors or emergency responders note to contact you or somebody else about this potential emergency? If not, it could take quite a while for them to track you down and make contact.
If the senior is dealing with significant health issues, physical challenges, or other issues and lives alone, talk to them about senior care options. A home care aide can be a great asset, even if they don’t need direct physical help at the moment getting around.
If you’re not prepared for an emergency, you’ll be spending too much time and energy immediately after just trying to catch up.