Emergency Plan for the Older Adult (OA)

Table of Contents

Introduction
Emergency-Related Needs and Challenges of an OA
Necessary Emergency Supplies for a Healthy OA
Emergency Preparedness Measures for an OA
Personal Emergency Plan for an OA
Importance for Independent OAs
References

Introduction

The current presentation aims to address the following objectives:

Identify emergency-related needs and challenges of an older adult (OA);
Identify necessary emergency supplies;
Specify emergency preparedness measures;
Develop a personal emergency plan for an OA;
Specify the importance of independent OAs

Some of the challenges an older adult can face in case of emergency include:

mobility problems;
chronic health conditions;
absence of family of friends nearby when an OA needs support;
age-related problems, such as hearing or vision impairment (American Red Cross, n.d.).

Therefore, the following needs can be identified:

easy access to family members contact information;
a mobile device to contact family or friends and a comprehensive understanding of its use;
aids that can improve an OAs mobility situation, such as a cane or a walker;
easy access to vital medications during emergency (Shih et al., 2018).

Necessary Emergency Supplies for a Healthy OA

Some of the basic supplies that need to be included in the emergency kit for an OA are:

Water (one gallon per person) and non perishable, easy-to-prepare food;
First-aid kit and basic hygiene and sanitation products;
Battery-powered or hand-crank radio and a set of extra batteries;
Necessary medications, medical equipment and necessities;
Emergency cell phone with charges;
Family members contact information;
Extra clothes and blankets;
Key papers (American Red Cross, n.d.).

Emergency Preparedness Measures for an OA

Identifying the disasters that are likely to happen in the OAs region;
Reviewing the information on the community response plans, alerts, and warnings;
Assessing the OAs cognitive, medical, and physical needs;
Making an emergency contact list;
Gathering necessary emergency supplies;
Preparing key documents (Shih et al., 2018).

Personal Emergency Plan for an OA

An older adult I have visited to develop this emergency plan for is a family friend who currently lives alone, has mobility issues and mildly impaired cognitive abilities as a result of a stroke. Therefore, emergency plan for them would include the following steps:

When sheltering at home, get to a safe place, avoiding windows and glass;
Contact a family member or friend while in the safe place;
Monitor the emergency news and alerts to stay informed on the recent updates;
When required to evacuate, gather the medical emergency kit, basic supplies, and key documents;
Use a mobility aid device to leave the house;
Reach the safe location arranged in the evacuation plan;
Follow the instructions of the evacuation team (American Red Cross, n.d.).

Importance for Independent OAs

This plan is important for the OAs living independently without services because it will:

increase their awareness about the ways to prepare themselves to emergency situations (Shih et al., 2018);
provide them with guidelines to follow during an emergency (Shih et al., 2018);
improve their ability to react quickly to crisis situations;
make them less vulnerable when disasters occur (Shih et al., 2018).