Planning is vital since emergencies are inevitable. Some decisions need to be taken quickly when an incident emerges. At times like this, the standard chain of command may not be available, which calls for increased emergency preparedness.
Successfully managing an incident depends on creating a plan in advance, educating everyone on it, and regularly reviewing and improving it. When seconds count, assuring everyone that they know how to respond in any circumstance is invaluable also to protect their mobility.
However, it’s crucial to know that accidents and injuries are more likely to happen and cause old age problems to older people, making first aid help urgently necessary. You can be better prepared for potential emergencies by being aware of some common first-aid medical issues that older adults encounter.
We’ll provide you with all the knowledge you need in this article, including a deeper understanding of emergency preparedness for seniors.
What is Emergency Preparedness?
A larger collection of initiatives aims to reduce the likelihood and effects of disasters on people’s lives. One of these initiatives is emergency preparedness. These include humanitarian emergency response, mitigation, and prevention. It offers a list of steps that should be followed in such circumstances.
To preserve lives and lessen property damage, it demonstrates preventive measures, preparedness for unfavorable scenarios, how to minimize them, and how to have positive controls during that situation.
Being ready before a disaster can help you rescue your property and restore normalcy to large communities more quickly than would be feasible otherwise.
When you boil it down, being prepared for a calamity can save lives. Planning may take effort, but it will benefit the entire family.
Importance
In addition to saving lives and protecting property, well-thought-out emergency preparedness and response strategies can frequently help resilience and post-disaster recovery by reducing the impact of a disaster.
The simplest method to limit the harm when something awful happens is to be prepared for emergencies. Let’s look at what you can do to protect yourself and your family in the case of an emergency, from taking your actions at home to calling organizations designed to help during disasters.
Benefits
Emergencies and disasters are commonplace worldwide, from natural disasters to terrible accidents. Even though many people find it uncomfortable to think about such challenging situations, denying their existence can make them more likely to happen and have negative effects.
Ignoring risks and assuming you can figure things out after a crisis doesn’t help. But being prepared for emergencies has many advantages.
Being ready helps lessen the stress that may cause cognitive disability, grief, and worry that come with calamities. Families, communities, and people all need to know what to do in the event of an earthquake and where to go for safety during a crisis.
They ought to be prepared to leave their houses, seek safety in public shelters, and take care of their basic medical requirements.
Crisis readiness can mean the difference between death and life.
Why Preparation for Emergencies Is Significant?
Each year, disasters affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Each calamity affects people and property in a lasting way. Being ready is essential, especially in terms of finances.
- Certain disasters can be limited or prevented by preparation.
It is more likely that more people will survive a severe earthquake and that less structural damage will be done if a building is designed to withstand one. Planning and taking preventative measures can lessen the devastating effects of a natural disaster on communities, especially those with vulnerable populations.
- Rehabilitation can be made simpler
Even with the finest preparation, a disaster or emergency frequently results in the loss of life and property. Making sure that losses aren’t catastrophic is one of the keys to emergency preparedness. Backup copies of essential papers must be kept in a secure location.
- Preparedness Can Lessen Worries
Both victims and first responders may suffer psychological and emotional effects from catastrophes and disasters. Knowing what to do and where to go can help everyone involved get to safety more quickly and reduce their dread of the unknown.
- Being proactive can rescue lives
Survival depends on being prepared for emergencies. You might not be able to survive an earthquake if you are prepared for a fire. All potential risks to our communities must be considered, as the social vulnerability of certain populations, including the homeless, aged, and crippled.
Every stage in emergency management is important, from having a system to correctly identify and prevent possible disasters to having a strategy for handling the reaction and recovery. The difference between life and death could be determined at every stage by careful planning and execution.
72-hour Kit of Essentials
Emergencies occur, but how you prepare for them and react to them can greatly impact how they affect you and your family. If you must leave your home during an emergency, having the necessary items on hand can save your life.
Make an emergency kit that is tailored to your family’s specific needs. Every six months, make sure it is current by checking the emergency checklist.
After a disaster, local authorities and aid personnel will be on the site, but they cannot quickly reach everyone. It can take days or hours for you to receive assistance. It is predicted that relief teams could take up to three days to reach some communities following a severe disaster.
Every person and family should have at least one 72-Hour Kit (Basic Disaster Supplies Kit). Make an effort to put together your equipment well before an emergency. It might be necessary to leave right away, so pack your basics. You likely need more time to shop for or find the necessary items.
Older Adult Emergency Preparedness: The First and Best Measure You Must Perform
It provides you and your family peace of mind and the certainty that you will not be alone in an emergency to sit down with your loved one and work out a strategy for how you would collectively face a natural disaster. For your elderly family members, making an emergency preparedness plan is identical to doing so for yourself.
Emergency response/ First aid for Seniors
Even though accidents and injuries can occur to anybody at any time, older persons are more vulnerable to specific sorts of them and may require special attention. Fortunately, you often don’t need to be highly skilled to help someone, and this piece will provide some basic first aid skills that are useful to know, particularly for aiding older people.
First aid is the prompt treatment of a medical emergency. Even extracting a finger splinter can be considered straightforward. Or it could be a method that saves lives, like performing CPR.
While immediate first assistance is necessary for life-threatening situations, dial 911 first.
Must Read: Understanding First aid for Seniors: Emergency Response
Old age problems and prescriptions should be listed in the first aid kit you have at home. That aids emergency personnel in treating you if you go unconscious.
A few essentials to have in your kit are:
- Sanitizers and antiseptic wipes
- Variety of bandages
- Generic painkillers
- Hydrocortisone cream and antibiotic ointment
- Tweezers
- Medical mitts
- Tape and gauze
- Scissors
Must Read: Emergency kits for seniors/ Emergency medical files
Wearable Safety Device for Elderly
Seniors’ wearable technology has advanced significantly from the days of the large life alert pendants that hang around their necks. These senior safety wearables can provide peace of mind while preserving your parent’s privacy, pride, and dignity, whether you want to log location, track health metrics or detect falls.
Wearable technology can make your parent’s lives more independent and connected. If someone has been sitting longer than normal, technology monitoring daily activities can encourage them to get up and move.
Apps that deliver notifications for medication and appointment reminders can assist people who live alone to keep safe and healthy. With connected button technology, your parents may feel secure again, whether walking to the grocery store or taking a stroll in the evening without worrying about possibly falling and having no one to aid them.
Related Article: (Everything You Need To Know About Life Alert Button Cost)
Evacuation for Seniors
Staying nearby with relatives or friends during an evacuation is the greatest choice for your senior. If staying at a hotel is not possible, there may be a nice alternative.
Your last resort should be to shelter in place at a public emergency shelter. Often, these shelters are not set up to accommodate people with special needs; however, most coastal locations do have shelters that can accommodate evacuees with special needs; thus, conduct your research to find out where these shelters are situated.
Make sure there is a caregiver nearby who can stay with your senior throughout the evacuation, and devise a strategy for how your senior can get there, especially if they cannot drive themselves.
You must make arrangements for pre-admittance before departure if your loved one has unique medical needs and your doctor advises evacuating to a hospital or other medical facility.
You will need a pre-admission letter from your doctor stating that your loved one is to be sent to a certain hospital or nursing home to accomplish this.
Tell the electricity company about your loved one’s unique medical requirements, such as an oxygen tank or a dialysis machine, if they cannot evacuate so that their home can be given priority when the power is restored. Consider buying a portable generator to power these devices.
How to make your home accessible to older citizens
Remodeling an existing home for the convenience of older adults can be challenging, even though one can get design ideas from the interiors of retirement homes, assisted living facilities, and other adult care communities.
- Avoid drab or inadequate illumination.
- Install a restroom that is fall-proof.
- Install safety measures against fire.
- Avoid using dangerous goods.
- Choose stairs that are quite flat.
- Examine the option of adding ramps next to the stairways.
- Always position sizable side tables close to the bed.
Upkeeping your Emergency Supply Kit
Maintaining resources for seniors to be secure to utilize when needed is equally critical to assembling them. The following advice can help you maintain your materials prepared and in good shape:
- New objects should go in the back of the storage space, while older ones should go in the front.
- Change stored food and water supplies every six months. On all containers, be sure to mention the date you stored them.
- Every year, reevaluate your requirements and update your kit as your family’s needs evolve.
- Put everything in sealed plastic bags and pack your emergency supply kit into one or two portable containers, like a duffel bag, a camping backpack, or an empty garbage can.
- Store canned goods in a dry location with a cold temperature.
- Boxed food should be kept in tightly-closed plastic or metal containers to keep pests out and increase shelf life.
- Any canned foods that develop swelling, dents, or corrosion should be thrown out.
- Use up food before it spoils, then swap it out for fresh supplies.
Home Disaster Plan
Families might not be together when a disaster happens, so it’s crucial to plan how they will communicate, reunite, and respond to various scenarios. Think about the following:
- Locating important meeting spots. It could be somewhere close to your home, outside your area, or outside of your town.
- Determining the locations where your family spends most of its time and choosing meeting spots nearby.
- Detailing significant details about each family member, including critical medical data.
- Create business cards with contact details for each family member to keep on them.
- Deciding on an out-of-state contact person who family members can contact to let them know if they are safe. Long-distance communication may be simpler in times of crisis than local communication. Additionally, set up your contact person as “ICE” (In Case of Emergency) in your family members’ cell phones so that emergency personnel will know who to call.
- Assuring family members are comfortable using text messaging is important since text messages can frequently avoid network outages that frequently occur during disasters.
- Registering with alert services so you can be informed of weather alerts, road closures, and other potential alerts
Conclusion
Make plans now and assume responsibility. Listen to local officials’ instructions and watch for information about dangerous weather and other occurrences on the radio and television. If urged to go immediately, do so.
Contact your neighborhood emergency management office for instructions on what to do during an evacuation. It’s crucial to have backup plans in case things go wrong. Obtain the necessities and maintain a list of your prescriptions and their dosages, a copy of your eyeglass prescription, and other crucial documents with you at all times in case you need to leave the house.