Tips for People with Disabilities and Medical
Concerns
Table Of Contents:
Establish a
Personal Support Network
A
personal support network can consist of friends,
roommates, family members, relatives, personal
attendants, co-workers and neighbors who will check in
with you in an emergency to ensure you are OK and
provide assistance if needed.
Do not depend on any one person. Identify a
minimum of three people at each location where you
regularly spend your time: job, home, school, volunteer
site, etc.
Personal assistance services (attendants) may not be
available after a major disaster. Therefore, it is vital
that your support network consist of people other than
your attendants. If you employ one or use the services
of a home health agency or other type of in-home
service, work with them to develop an emergency plan.
How will you get along for as long as seven days?
In
spite of your best planning, sometimes a personal
support network must be created on the spot. For
example, you may find yourself in a shelter and in need
of immediate assistance. Think about what you require,
how you want things done and what kind of person you
would select.
Seven Important Items to
Discuss, Exchange and Practice with Your Personal
Support Network
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Make arrangements for your support network to
immediately check on you after a disaster and, if
needed, offer assistance.
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Exchange important keys.
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Show them where you keep emergency supplies.
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Share copies of your emergency documents, evacuation
plans and emergency health information card.
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Agree upon and practice a communications system (how
to contact each other in an emergency). Do not count
on the telephones working.
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You and your personal support network should always
notify each other when you are going out of town and
when you will return.
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The relationship should be mutual. Learn about each
other's needs and how to help each other in an
emergency.
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Traveling
When staying in hotels, motels, etc., identify yourself
to registration desk staff as a person who will need
assistance in an emergency and state the type of
assistance you may need.
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Health Card
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An emergency health information card communicates to
rescuers what they need to know about you if they find
you unconscious or incoherent, or if they need to
quickly help evacuate you.
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An emergency health information card contains
information about your medications, adaptive
equipment, blood type, allergies and sensitivities,
insurance numbers, social security number,
immunization dates, communication difficulties and
preferred treatment, as well as contact information
for your health providers, personal support network
and emergency contacts.
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Make multiple copies of this card to keep in emergency
supply kits, car, work, wallet (behind your driver's
license or primary identification card), wheelchair
pack, etc.
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Update this information every six months.
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Emergency
Contact List
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It is often easier to place an out-of-state call from
a disaster area than to call within it. Ask relatives
or friends who live outside your immediate area
(approximately 100 miles away) to act as a clearing
house for information about you and your family after
a disaster. All family members should know to call the
contact person to report their location and condition.
The contact person should then relay messages to your
other friends and relatives outside the disaster area.
This will help to reduce calling into and out of the
affected area once the phones are working.
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Besides emergency out-of-town contacts, your list
should include your personal support network,
equipment vendors, doctors, utility companies,
employers, schools and day care centers.
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Emergency
Documents
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This includes important information typically needed
after a disaster. Store emergency documents [such as
your health card, family records (birth, marriage and
death certificates), wills, deeds, family social
security numbers, charge and bank accounts, insurance
documentation, etc.] in sealed freezer bags in all of
your emergency supply kits. If you feel comfortable
doing so, give copies to your out-of-state contacts
and the people in your personal support network.
Remember to place a copies in a safe-deposit box. Be
sure to update this information every six months as
needed.
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Conduct an Ability
Self-Assessment
Evaluate your capabilities, limitations and needs, as
well as your surroundings to determine what type of help
you will need in an emergency.
1.
Will you be able to independently shut off the necessary
utilities (gas, water, electricity)?
2.
Can you operate a fire extinguisher?
3.
Will you be able to carry your evacuation kit?
4.
Have you moved or secured large objects that might block
your escape path?
5.
Write instructions for the following (keep a copy with
you and share a copy with your personal support
network):
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a. How to turn off utilities (color-code or label them
for quick identification).
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Main gas
valve, located next to the meter - blue; Electrical
power circuit breaker box - red; Main water valve -
green.
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If you have a
reduced or limited sense of smell, alert your
personal support network to check for gas leaks.
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b. How to operate and safely move your essential
equipment. Consider attaching simple instructions to
your equipment.
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c. How to safely transport you if you need to be
carried, and include any areas of vulnerability.
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d. How to provide personal assistance services.
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Remind anyone
who assists you to practice strict cleanliness. With
limited water and increased health hazards, the
possibility of infection increases. Keep a supply of
latex gloves in your emergency supply kit and ask
people assisting you with personal hygiene to use
them.
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List all
personal care assistance needs (dressing, bathing,
etc.) with instructions on how best to assist you.
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Make a map of
where to find medications, aids and supplies, and
share it with your personal support network.
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e. How to evacuate. As much as possible, clear
obstacles from aisles and secure large, heavy items
such as bookcases that may fall and block your path.
Plan alternate exit paths.
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Communication: Practice
Assertiveness Skills
Take charge and practice how to quickly explain to
people how to move your mobility aids or how to move you
safely and rapidly. Be prepared to give clear, specific
and concise instructions and directions to rescue
personnel: "Take my oxygen tank," "Take my wheelchair,"
"Take my gamma globulin from the freezer," "Take my
communication device from under the bed." Practice
giving these instructions with the least amount of words
in the least amount of time. For example, the
traditional "fire fighter's carry" may be hazardous for
some people with respiratory weakness. You need to be
able to give brief instructions regarding how to move
you.
Be
prepared to request an accommodation from disaster
personnel. For example, if you are unable to wait in
long lines for such items as water, food and disaster
relief applications, practice clearly and concisely
explaining why you cannot wait.
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"Carry-With-You" Supplies to
Keep with You at All Times
Packing/Container suggestions: a fanny pack, back pack
or drawstring bag which can be hung from a wheelchair,
scooter or other assistive device.
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Emergency Health Information Card.
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Instructions on personal assistance needs and how best
to provide them.
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Copy of Emergency Documents.
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Essential medications/copies of prescriptions (at
least a week's supply).
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Flashlight on key ring.
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Signaling device (whistle, beeper, bell, screecher).
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Small battery-operated radio and extra batteries
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Disability-Related Supplies to Add to Regular Emergency
Kits
Plan for enough disability-related supplies to last for
up to two weeks (medication syringes, colostomy
supplies, respiratory aids, catheters, padding,
distilled water, etc.). If you have chemical
sensitivities or a respiratory or cardiac condition,
store towels, masks, industrial respirators or other
supplies you can use to filter your air supply. Do not
expect shelters or first aid stations to meet your
supply needs. In an emergency, supplies will be limited.
Store supplies in areas you anticipate will be easy to
reach after a disaster. If you are unable to afford
extras, consider contacting disability-specific
organizations, such as the Multiple Sclerosis Society,
Arthritis Foundation, United Cerebral Palsy Association,
etc. They may be able to assist you in gathering
low-cost or no-cost emergency supplies and medications.
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Medication
It
is best to maintain at least a seven-to-14-day supply of
essential medications (heart, blood pressure, birth
control, diabetic, psychiatric orphan drugs, etc.) and
keep it with you at all times. If this is not possible,
even a three-day supply would be extremely helpful.
Work with your doctor(s) to obtain an extra supply of
medications. Make several copies of your prescriptions
and place one in each of your survival kits as well as
your car kit and wallet.
Ask your provider or pharmacist how to store your
medication. Ask how often you should rotate stored
supplies to ensure the effectiveness does not weaken. If
you are on medications that are administered by a clinic
or hospital (such as methadone, chemo or radiation
therapy) ask your provider how you should plan for a
3-14 day disruption.
If
you are a smoker, be aware that smoking is not allowed
in shelters. If getting to an outside smoking area may
be difficult for you, consider stocking your evacuation
kit with nicotine gum or patches.
Life in cramped, unheated shelters can increase the
chances of pneumonia, influenza and colds. Stock your
kits with vitamins or medications to guard against
getting sick and to cope with being sick.
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Equipment and Assistive
Devices
Keep important equipment and assistive devices in a
consistent, convenient and secured place, so you can
quickly and easily locate them. Make sure such items as
false teeth, hearing aids, prosthesis, mobility aids,
canes, crutches, walkers, respirators, service animal
harnesses, augmentative communication devices or
electronic communicators, artificial larynx, wheelchair,
sanitary aids, batteries, eye glasses, contacts and
cleaning solutions, etc., are secured. For example, keep
these items in a container attached to your night stand
or bed post, secure your oxygen tank to the wall, keep
your wheelchair locked and close to bed, etc. This helps
prevent them from falling, flying or rolling away during
a quake and makes them easily accessible in the event of
an evacuation.
If
you use a laptop computer as a means of communication,
consider purchasing a power converter. A power converter
allows most laptops to run from a cigarette lighter on
the dashboard of a vehicle.
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Checklist
Print out a copy of this list for your convenience and
be sure to write down the completion date for each
activity at it is accomplished.
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Developed by
Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco in
cooperation with June Kailes, Disability Consultant,
through a grant from The American Red Cross Northern
California Disaster Preparedness Network
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