Posted 4/6/22 (dubbed Safe Place Selfie day by the National Weather Service)
“You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.”-Isaiah 25:4
Happy Wednesday, friends. 🙂 My time is a bit short today, but I want to discuss something that is so important to me that I am currently writing my (2nd) Master’s Dissertation on the topic: “Disaster Readiness for Those with Dementia and their Caregivers”. Part of my job at SeniorAge is being the director of the disaster preparedness and recovery program for our non-profit and I take this role seriously. We have continuity of operations plans, we drill at every senior center and our home office, and we talk about the subject when we can. Our strategy that we try to utilize and that we recommend to all is part of what the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services calls the Ready in 3 program. There are 3 steps to cover to be sure you are prepared for a disaster:
- Create a disaster plan
- Pack and maintain a disaster kit
- Listen for information
Nothing revolutionary about this list, yet the majority of folks just kind of “wing it” in a disaster. Allow me to quickly summarize and point out a few thoughts on each of these topics. 🙂
Disaster Plan– A disaster plan varies by the person or family. The main things you need to consider are basic although some may seem somewhat counterintuitive. Where will you and your loved ones go in a tornado/storm? Considerations:
- Is the location accessible so that you can easily get in and out? Stairs are hard to navigate for some. Other sites have an elevator…but it may not work in a storm. Can walkers and/or wheelchairs get in and out?
- If your loved one is in early- or mid-stage, it would be wise to visit the place multiple times in days with blue skies, remembering that dementia hates routine and familiarity and your loved one loves those things. Surprises are impossible to avoid, but if you could attempt to visit a few times, it will also help you stay calm which they will feel.
- Transportation- Are you all comfortable with transportation, even in a tense situation like a storm? A Go-Kit can help with a fidget blanket and perhaps headphones. Could you leave a walker or folded wheelchair in the trunk? Or, could you store one at your shelter?
- Discuss the topic with friends and neighbors in case transportation is an issue or just for help.
Disaster Kit (click for a link to Ready.gov’s basic recommendations)- Every family needs a disaster kit, regardless of whether dementia has visited your home, but if it has, there are some additional considerations:
- Entertainment/work- You probably already have some ideas of what you use to help your loved one stay busy and happy/distracted. Have some form of this with your disaster kit. I really like fidget blankets and muffs, both of which I have written about in past posts. A few towels to fold, coloring pages and crayons, a toy, and other similar things may help. Some find toy pets or baby dolls helpful as well.
- Meds- You need at least a week of medicine available and current. It may take that long to get replacements for lost meds and this will bridge the gap.
- Music with headphones can sometimes help sooth the anxiety of the situation. They will thrive on music much better than listening to the stressful weather radio you will be listening to.
- Toileting gear- Adult diapers, wipes, and other cleaning items will be hard to find and are invaluable. Have at least 7-10 days’ worth of these items in your kit.
- Copies of insurance cards and similar info should be stashed in your disaster kit.
- If you have a motorized wheelchair, can you have a second battery available?
- Extra eyeglasses and hearing aid batteries could be invaluable as well
- A medical alert bracelet would be wise (all of the time) in case your loved one wandered away.
- A phone charger that you crank is readily available. After the Joplin tornado (I helped clean up for quite a while after it), texting worked almost immediately, but calls took several days. If you don’t text, learn how and keep that knowledge as a tool in your toolkit. If you need help with that (or any of this), please feel free to email me at mark.applegate@senioragemo.org or call me at 417-955-2513 .
- Print out phone numbers and important information in case your phone poops out and you need to borrow one.
Information– This isn’t particular to dementia, but having a S.A.M.E. weather radio (with an extra battery bundle) is invaluable for everyone. These modern weather radios will let you customize it for your location as well.
Write down and have stored in an accessible place the Alzheimer’s Association 1-800# for help: 1-800-272-3900. It is staffed by professionals and these folks care and have tools to help! 🙂
If you are going to shelter at home, be careful. As long as you have an interior room with no windows, preferably a large bathroom or similar, it is likely ok to shelter there if moving your loved one to shelter is out of the question. Bring your kit and your weather radio to the sheltering room. Be sure your neighbors and family know that you shelter at home.
I would love to hear your stories and tips as well. Please email them to me at the above address or post them in the comments. There are a million considerations, and I am just listing the most important here. Just remember, too, to be safe. You truly matter.
In the spirit of preparedness, our local NWS office in Springfield promotes #SafePlaceSelfie today when they suggest that you interested people and organizations post a picture of their crew sheltering in a storm drill. Here are ours:
The first one is us sheltering in our safe area and the other two are what many in the Ozarks and elsewhere do: go outside and hope they are safe. Those two were our #UnSafePlaceSelfies
#EndALZ
Update: I had a nice supper with mom yesterday and will see her again today. She is about the same and her nose looks pretty much healed now. She ate less than normal and they have already cut back her meal size, so that is always a concern, but so far, so good. 🙂
Runnin’ Til I’m Purple– Still plugging along. I ran back to back 16 mile runs last weekend. Will try longer this one. Lots of preparation needed…and prayer. 🙂
Reminder again…any time anything is underlined in my posts, it is actually a resource link. I don’t sell advertising, so Google isn’t doing that…it is me. 🙂 I try to add all sorts of extra resources in these links. 🙂