How to Evaluate Assisted Living Emergency Preparedness
How prepared are you to handle the next emergency? According to the World Health Organization, emergencies happen every day and everywhere. Emergency preparedness is our best way to handle these emergencies when they occur.
But what sort of disaster planning do you need to have for an assisted living community? Senior safety is a bit harder to maintain, which is why we have assisted living regulations.
If you're curious about emergency preparedness in an assisted living community, we're here to help. Read on for a full guide on how to ensure your senior is ready for the next emergency.
Understanding Evacuation Procedures
The first thing you should keep in mind is evacuation procedures. But what is an evacuation procedure?
In the event of an emergency, evacuation is often necessary. Evacuating is when the residents move from their current location to a safe place.
Evacuation plans are usually discussed before an emergency. You may remember doing fire drills in school, where you lined up with your classmates and followed a pre-planned route. These practices helped you when a real fire broke out.
Students still continue to practice these, as well as school shooter drills, tornado drills, and more. But is the assisted living community practicing such drills?
That's rarely the case. Instead, it's expected that seniors know where to muster when there's an emergency.
Take some time to know the evacuation route and what plans are necessary in an evacuation. That way, you won't spend time during a disaster worrying about where to go.
Disability and Evacuation
How does evacuation work for people who are differently abled? If you or your senior deal with mobility challenges, it can be nerve-wracking to think of needing to get somewhere in a hurry.
Assisted living communities plan most of their layout to be friendly to those of us with mobility challenges. Doing so helps them reduce the likelihood of a fall or accident during normal operation. Naturally, it's also helpful should an emergency occur.
Make sure you have such a route memorized and communicate your concerns with the staff. By doing so, you ensure that there will be as few snags as possible should an emergency occur.
Communication Plans
Communication during an emergency is another massive source of stress. How can you ensure proper communication during evacuation or an outage? What if the emergency is a loss of power, taking down the phones and internet?
For this, we recommend having a personal cell phone for every senior. Some communities will provide these, though that's rather uncommon. Know what available resources your community provides.
With a personal cell phone, your senior is in control of their communication. The power going down in the assisted living community should not affect their phone. Likewise, their cell signal is rarely dependent on the community.
If you mostly communicate through social media, take the time to install and explain these applications to the senior. Ensuring such strong communication is one of the most important parts of emergency preparedness.
Evaluating Staff Training
You may have full faith in your senior's capabilities, but what about the staff around them? Most assisted living communities have trained, skilled staff who are able to handle any emergency.
But how can you be sure that the staff there has such training? The best way is to be open and honest with your questions.
Staff understand how important your loved ones are to you, and they won't take offense to your question. Politely and respectfully ask them about their emergency responses and get to know how they'll handle a situation. Some questions include:
- How often do emergencies occur in the average year?
- What are the most common emergencies you deal with?
- How long does it take emergency response teams to reach the community?
- What emergencies are you trained to handle?
- Do you provide escorts to seniors in the event of an emergency?
These questions and any others you have to ask should give you a good idea of what to expect from the staff. By understanding their training, you can rest easy when they need to act.
Personalized Plans for Emergency
One way to handle emergencies is with personalized plans. Personalized plans give your seniors a specifically tailored plan depending on their needs. These plans are especially important for memory care.
A good example is for seniors who need certain supplies, such as oxygen. You should also understand how the staff will respond to elongated emergencies, such as significant damage from a storm.
Knowing the Necessity of Supplies
Speaking of elongated emergencies, how would you handle such an issue? Staff are trained to understand the necessities during such a time. Here are the most important supplies to have during a long-term emergency.
Water and Food
Fresh water and food are two of the most important things. Thankfully, this is rarely something the senior will need to consider.
Most communities will handle such a necessity for them. That way, no one is without food or water for a long period of time.
The FDA suggests storing one gallon of water per day for each member of a family. There should also be at least a 3-day supply of water for each person. There's no harm in more if that doesn't sound like enough!
Medicine
Medicine is also crucial. If your senior needs a certain medication in case of emergencies, you should always have some on hand.
Also keep in mind medical equipment, like insulin needles. According to the National Institutes of Health, insulin pen needles can be used up to five times before the tip deforms.
Understanding Emergency Preparedness
Understanding emergency preparedness can help ensure senior safety as a result of disaster planning. Make sure you know communication protocols, evacuation procedures, and all assisted living regulations before a disaster strikes.
At Addington Place of Edwardsville, we're proud to provide exceptional comfort, convenience, and safety. Our community proudly offers resident-focused care so that you know you're getting the most for your loved ones within our walls. Contact us today to see how we can help you make the most of your golden years.