Every day When I turn on the news it seems that a natural disaster like a hurricane, flood or tornado is happening. The latest are the devastating wild fires in California. I remember when Hurricane Irma in 2017 hit and how I was caught a little unprepared. It wasn’t the hurricane itself but rather the after affects that caused major power outages in my community. I had to figure out how to maneuver without electricity for a couple of days. I even think back to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Again, I was not directly affected because I live in Atlanta but   I ended up working directly with disabled evacuees. As I took their phone calls for emergency assistance I had to reflect on my own situation and ask some hard questions about my preparedness. Now that we are in the midst of a pandemic, I have thought seriously about how to handle a medical emergency and do I have things in place if I get sick and need to be hospitalized. I know that preparing for any  emergency during COVID-19  will help me to stay save and survive. September is recognized as National Preparedness Month  to promote family and community disaster planning now and throughout the year. The 2020 NPM theme is: “Disasters Don’t Wait. Make Your Plan Today.”

Over the years I have put simple things in place such as keeping extra water and  batteries on hand for my flashlights. I also created an emergency contact list including family, friends, and medical information such as insurance companies and medical doctors. Initially I had it displayed on my kitchen corkboard but today it is stored in my smartphone.  I have my family labeled in my contacts and I have a medical app for this purpose so that medical personnel can reach out to my contacts if I am incapacitated.

‘When I purchased my home 17 years ago, one of the first things I did was go to a home improvement store and buy 2 fire extinguishers. I have one in the kitchen and the other is in the hallway upstairs. According to the National Fire Protection Association it is best to have a fire extinguisher on each level of your home, in the kitchen, the garage and near exit doors. You never know when you might need to put out a small fire and you will lose precious time running around the house to get an extinguisher. Two things to remember though–be sure to check the agent class. They come in A, B, C or a combination. I purchased one for all fires so I don’t have to worry about if the extinguisher will work properly. Also, I try to keep track of the agent levels in the extinguisher. Over time the agent strength level decreases and the worse thing is to have a fire, grab the extinguisher, aim and spray and nothing comes out!

To help ease my mind about COVID-19, medical emergencies,  and hospitalization I do  a little reading. Emory Healthcare sends out a routine newsletter with updates and details on COVID-19 Procedures. I have learned that emergency rooms and hospitals follow strict guidelines for protecting people during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the following: universal masking, screening at all entrances, separate waiting areas for people who have or may have COVID-19, frequent cleaning and disinfecting,  and social distancing.

In case of a home emergency I have some supplies organized and ready. I can quickly grab a standard first aid kit, OTC medications, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide and cotton balls. I also have an ice pack in the freezer and a   talking thermometer . When the pandemic started, I realized that I need to stock food supplies for illness. So now I have chicken noodle soup, crackers, bottled water, Sprite and Gatorade.

Remembering my time working with Katrina evacuees, a thing I noticed in particular was the lack of access to important documents such as social security cards, birth records and government IDs. So, what I did was purchase a waterproof and fire safe storage unit. Since those days I have moved a lot of my life online and need to do the same with these documents. I can scan them into my computer and store and save in Dropbox to   easily access later from the cloud.

Another task is writing an advance medical directive. This document states what to do medically if I become unable to direct my own care. It would give who to contact to make medical decisions on my behalf and whether I want to be resuscitated or not. This is something I have never done before but need to take seriously because the wrong medical care could be administered without my knowledge or approval. During this time of COVID-19 a medical directive is even more important than ever before.

If and when a medical emergency happens, I want to be ready.  I know that being clear headed and focused will help me get the best medical assistance during an emergency. I have done my best to plan and prepare for a crisis. I can have peace of mind that I have taken the initiative. So, are you prepared for an emergency? What things can you start putting in place today to prepare yourself?