5 Tips to Help You Medically Prepare For A Hurricane
With hurricane season upon us, we completely understand your fears and frustrations. Preparing for a hurricane and buying supplies is already stressful enough without thinking about how to prepare as well medically. To make your life easier, we’ve prepared a short list of medical emergency tips to help you remember everything you need to have with you when medically preparing for a hurricane.
A crucial element to your Hurricane Plan is preparing your entire Emergency Medical Kit beforehand so that you’re not scrambling for records and items when evacuating. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, you should have a week’s supply of your prescription and over-the-counter medications with you, and having a two weeks’ supply is even better. Also, be in touch with your pharmacist and make sure your pharmacy has the most up-to-date list of medications.
In the case of an evacuation, ask your pharmacy if they are linked to any other pharmacy in the area you are leaving to, and have the contact information of that pharmacy with you. Along with your physical medications, you should also have a printed list of all of your medications. If you don’t have all the information for this, you can ask your doctor or your local pharmacy to provide you with a physical or digital list of your prescription medications. This can include your medically prescribed devices so you can have a printed copy available in your Emergency Medical Kit.
Along with the contact information for pharmacies with your medical records and prescriptions, have a physical list of significant phone numbers, such as all the doctors for your family, peer mentors, service providers, case managers, and medical facilities. Also having your family and friends’ numbers on hand is one of the most essential medical emergency tips as well.
In case your original medical records are lost in a hurricane or other natural disaster, make extra hard copies and keep them in your Emergency Medical Kit. You should also keep digital versions of your medical records on a flash drive that you can stay safe. On your records, you should include the names of any assistive devices, durable medical equipment, and consumable medical supplies that your doctor has recommended for you.
For support devices, write down or print out the place you bought them, the style, and the serial number of each device. Another one of our medical emergency tips is to keep Medicare or Medicaid cards, your medical history, and your medical insurance cards safe in your Emergency.
Additionally, things like insurance documents, personal identification, and emergency action plans remain crucial to the best possible outcome should the need for a sudden evacuation arise. Ensure you have both print and electronic copies. Anything on print should be stored in sealable bags. Electronic documents can reside on flash drives or other methods for easy transportation.
If you’re not familiar with a medical alert bracelet, then chances are you don’t need one, but many people who suffer from different conditions or simply want their information on their person for first responders to see use a medical alert bracelet for emergencies. It is essentially a small identification tag worn on clothing, on the wrist, or around the neck with information about any critical medical conditions that paramedics might need to be aware of and take care of immediately. Some examples of conditions that warrant a medical alert bracelet are asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s Disease, but there are many more.
