Senior Residential and Assisted Care Living

Is senior residential living or assisted living in your future?  Please put Emergency Planning on your list of features you expect from such a facility. They are required by state law to have a Plan and practice it annually. You can ask a facility’s marketing manager “Does this facility have an Emergency Plan?  May I see it?”  Better yet, ask for a copy you can take home and read leisurely.  Let the marketing manager know that the emergency preparedness of their facility is every bit as important to you as apartment lay-out, meal quality and activities.  

Wheelies & Sanitation

In a previous article, I presented my basic 96-hour kit that was wearable.  But I cannot carry toileting supplies, sufficient water, sheltering, appropriate seasonal change of clothes, sleep gear, mess gear, etc., on my body.  So. . .

I have added “Wheels” to create the primary components of my sustainable kit for 2 aging adults with health limitations.  I will be including suggestions, but they are not meant to overshadow your own ideas of what you might want/need in your kit.

I have pre-loaded 4 “wheelies”.  In a walking evacuation, we would each pull 2 carts pre-packed ready to roll.  They are intended for on-foot use only, not for lifting into a vehicle. I have practiced walking to my nearest gathering place dressed in my emergency outfit and pulling 2 carts along flat roads.  

Evacuation on Foot

On-Foot Evacuation is my primary concern for those of us who are aging; there is not much instruction for us on how to prepare to evacuate our home and walk to our nearest community gathering places WITH enough appropriate and essential supplies. 

Do you know the location of you gathering place?  As an example, the community of Canyon Rim in the city of Millcreek will gather at/on the grounds of Rosecrest Elementary or the Canyon Rim Academy grounds. 

PRESENTATION: Three Response Strategies and Networking

The information herein is useful to all ages, but is directed toward seniors -- because our age group suffers disproportionately more injuries and fatalities in disasters.

I can attest to this from personal experience in 3 Earthquakes and 3 Civil Riots AND from searching out Lessons Learned from each national disaster. 

In all disasters I have studied, missteps -- primarily, communication breakdowns -- were made among the professionals that cost senior lives. The most dramatic is the final report about the Maui fire, made public in October 2024, revealing that 75% of fatalities were age 64 or older.  It is heartbreaking.

However, the primary reasons our age group suffers disproportionately comes down to US.  First, many of us older people are often NOT prepared at all; or, second, if we have of a kit, it is likely insufficient and inappropriate for our aging needs; and third, most seniors are not networked with younger, stronger neighbors who care, living on their same street, or connected to community or religious groups committed to include them.

SHELTERING IN PLACE for the AGING

As you may know, I am a long-time senior volunteer emergency preparedness and disaster response specialist.

In the face of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic or any public safety emergency, a practical action for aging adults is AVOIDANCE.  And, the most effective avoidance strategy is to shelter-at-home/self-quarantine.

You and I, as aging adults, are proving to be the most likely populations to develop severe COVID-19 infections that require medical intervention. The older we are, from age 60 forward, the greater our vulnerability.  Access your vulnerability based not only upon your age, but your underlaying level of health.

You Have Power Against the Threat of COVID-19

Reliable information and instructions are everywhere and they are empowering. 

If you want a global view, https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html. At the bottom center, you can link to CDC.gov and WHO. Easily obtain information and updates from state, county and local sites. https://coronavirus.utah.gov/ serves me well. 

Answers about COVID-19 will evolve and be disseminated as more people are tested, treated, recover and unfortunately, a few will expire.  Don’t be surprised if information from government, public health, religious and community leaders change from time-to-time. 

What Can you do to lessen the impact of COVID-19 in your home and workplace?

YOU are the HELP

Who will Help?

In a major disaster YOU (and I) are the HELP ‘til aid arrives …and that could take at least 96 hours.

Are you prepared to meet your essential needs for 4 days and 4 nights?

That would include: Toileting; 4 gallons of safe drinking water per person; first aid; your essential meds; food; hygiene supplies comfort items.  Does your kit include cash (small bills); house and auto keys; copies of your Identification; a contact list; and your important papers?

Seniors, You Need to Prepare

It is common sense – in a major disaster everyone will be impacted.  Young and old alike will suffer from: no electricity, no working toilets, scarcity of safe drinking water, food, medications and other essential supplies.  Damaged buildings and roads will affect us one and all.

There is no age we reach when we can say “I don’t have to prepare any more, the younger ones will take care of me.”  Or, “I’m too old to do the work or spend money to be prepared.”  Or, “I prepared years ago and nothing happened.”

Emergency professionals have a saying: “you are either part of the solution because you are prepared, or, unprepared, you quickly become part of the problem.”

Seniors: Don’t be Left Behind When Disaster Strikes

Disasters impact aging adults.  But there are things you can do NOW, to reduce your risk of being left behind when everyone is evacuating:

1. Consider joining a group of like-minded people and become a valuable member.  Going it alone is not a safe or practical disaster preparedness or response strategy.  That is true for people of any age, but especially for seniors.

2. Has your community identified gathering places?  If your home is no longer safe after a catastrophic disaster or you want to be with others, a gathering place is your best refuge destination.  If you don’t know of such a location, contact your city’s emergency manager and find out if there are gathering places that have been designated.  If you live in Salt Lake County, UT, you have the S.A.F.E. Neighborhoods program with its pre-selected gathering hubs.

96-Hour Emergency Kit

NOTE:  I recommend carts/wagons/dollies, not back-packs, to transport a 96-hour kit on foot.  But DO pack supplies in back packs/bags instead of putting items loose in cart/wagon.

Water:  1 gallon/person/day for 4 days weighs over 33 lbs.

Sanitation: Toileting supplies for the individual and family. Vital for family and public health.

Food:  Snacks are easiest, but think how comforting a warm meal of some kind would be.

Mess Gear: Necessary if planning on meals, even as basic as cereal.  Not needed for snacks.

Seniors and Disasters

While disasters take a toll on everyone, no group is more impacted than aging adults - seniors - especially those of us who also have physical limitations and mobility issues.

Though our nation regularly experiences major disasters, it was the devastating hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Sandy that made it crystal clear – seniors suffer the most fatalities, severe injuries and are the most likely to be left behind.

Drop, Cover & Hold On: Limited Mobility

Pre-Dawn Quakes Near Population Center

Earth tremors were felt, pre-dawn, on February 15th in Salt Lake and Utah valleys.  While this is not unusual – quakes of this magnitude happen several times each year -- these tremors occurred along the Wasatch Fault, close to population centers.

Please, take these events as a prompt, a reminder to move forward on 96-hour emergency kit preparation for your family.  

Additionally, PLEASE, at your earliest opportunity, gather your family and practice DROP, COVER and HOLD-ON in each room of your home.  It is done this way:  DROP carefully to the floor, crawl to a desk or table and take COVER under it.  HOLD-ON to the desk/table to prevent it from shifting, leaving you exposed to falling debris.

96-HOUR Kit Suggestions

Below is my personal view of practical components to create a Senior 96-Hour Emergency Kit suitable for On-Foot evacuation.

A money belt (travel stores) can be worn under your clothing to hold cash, personal ID, any certifications (such as CERT, Red Cross, Ham radio), contact list, vital meds in small plastic zip bags, etc.

A fanny pack can be comfortably worn at all times that could hold such things as additional doses of meds, important papers, cell phone, charger, keys, pencil, paper, protein bars (so you have a “food” source at-hand in case you get separated from larger kit components with better food), emergency whistle, lip gloss, lotion, candy, gum, etc. From the belt of the fanny pack you can hang such items as a walkie-talkie, light flashlight, personal water purification filter, face mask, etc.