Blizzard of 2011

I am in Florida now, feeling a bit guilty that I was not in town for the “Blizzard of 2011”, but grateful for the wonderful team at Partners in Senior Care. Everyone pulled together to make sure our clients received care. That meant that some of our caregivers ”slept over” with clients that only receive daytime care. Some caregivers were on duty 24 hours before the next person arrived to relieve them! We have several condo buildings with more than one client and they shared the services of one caregiver to make sure each person had bathes and meals.

We have a Disaster Plan for our Agency and every year our Administrative Team reviews it. Often we wonder why. I am so glad that we do! Not only does our office have emergency information for every client, but we have that information in the client’s home as well in case of the need to evacuate. Fortunately, no one lost power or heat and there were no evacuations necessary. We also have the phone numbers for the nearest hospital, fire and police department for each of our clients as part of their individual disaster plan.

It made me stop and consider about those seniors that do not have our services. Have they or someone close to them put together the information they need in case of an emergency? Minimally, a senior, or anyone for that matter, should have a list of their medications, primary doctor, emergency contact person (other than their spouse) on their refrigerator or other easily accessible place in their home, purse or wallet, and glove compartment of their car. We have forms on our website that can assist seniors and their families as well as our Care Connector Binder that adult children find invaluable when assisting their parents in an emergency.