Storm planning for health needs

As I sit here writing this, hurricane Isabel is churning in the Atlantic, and no one’s sure where it’s headed. Hurricane Fabian just hit Bermuda. Nurses and respiratory therapists up and down the East coast are helping patients with special health needs prepare in case the storm comes their way.

If you, a member of your household, or a loved one (even in a different part of the country) has any health conditions that require medication or special equipment, you need to plan ahead, whether it’s a hurricane or winter storm. (In this article, I’ll write as if you have the health condition, but all this information also applies to someone you know and may be looking out for.) Standing in line the day before a storm arrives to buy bread is one thing; you can’t wait ‘til it’s that late if you depend on medicines or equipment.

General Advance Planning: Should I Stay or Should I GO?

First, evaluate your physical condition – this will help determine if you should be one of the first to evacuate (or go to a friend or relative's home), particularly if a power outage is likely:

• Do you rely on electricity for special equipment related to a health condition, or could your health be seriously affected if you are without power for a number of days (for example, if your water comes from a well with an electric pump, or if you’d be without heat in the dead of winter)?

• Do others run errands for you? For example, if you depend on a neighbor to stop at the pharmacy, or Meals-on-Wheels for lunch every day, or a nurse to visit, those people may not be able to get to you. Bottom line? Can you survive on your own with what’s in your house for up to a week, even without power?

• Do you use an elevator where you live? If you live in an apartment building, would you be able to get out if there was no power?

• Can you carry a gallon of water by yourself? That’s how much water you’ll need every day if your tap is dry, or the water is contaminated.

• Do you live in an area that has one road in and out, such as a bridge or causeway, or do you live on a cul-de-sac or dead end street? If so, if the road is blocked by downed trees or power lines or if it’s washed away, you can be isolated for days.

• Can you get in and out of your home if there is no power? Many people are so used to their electric garage door openers that they haven't opened the regular doors in their house in a year or more. Do you know how to open your garage door if there is no power? Are you physically able to do this?

• Is your home at risk? If you live in a manufactured home or mobile home and winds of 74mph or higher are forecast, get out.

• Do you have neighbors that can and will help you?

• Are shelter facilities such as senior centers available for people with health conditions, or are you better off being admitted to the hospital for safety (not necessarily because you’re sick)?
• Be sure to notify the fire department, electric company, and your local emergency management agency if you require electricity for life sustaining equipment such as a ventilator (you may want to consider having a generator professionally installed for protection during any power interruption).

• Get a cheap old-fashioned telephone you can plug into a jack in the wall. Most cordless phones for the home today that are so helpful for people with special health needs will not work if the power goes out. If you have a traditional phone that simply plugs into the jack, you can still have phone service even if you don't have power. Granted, all the wires may go down, but you'll never know if your phone service is working if your phone relies on electricity to work

• NO candles for light! Sensitive people may be irritated by some candles' fumes; they start fires easily. Get plenty of battery-powered lights.

• Fresh drinking water -- one gallon per person in your household per day; my preference is spring water since it has virtually no expiration date -- our gallon jugs are in our garage since we have a well

• Make sure your refrigerator temperature is at least as low as 40 degrees -- if it is 45 degrees or higher, food will spoil sooner during a power outage

• Keep two to three weeks ahead on medication prescription refills at all times, particularly if you get your medicines by mail. Refill your prescription when you have 10-14 days of medicine left, so there won't be a risk that you'll run out, particularly if mail delivery is delayed

• Always have a drug list -- the name of your medicine(s), the dose, how often you take it, the condition it treats, the person who prescribed it (with the phone numbers of the prescriber and your local pharmacy)

• If you use any supplies such as oxygen that needs to be refilled, talk with your company about their emergency plans. Some companies will loan you an extra reservoir so you can store double the oxygen you usually have in case deliveries can't get through; others may provide you with an oxygen tank as a back-up if you use a liquid oxygen system.

• If you leave your home, be sure to talk with your medical supplier so you can get deliveries where you'll be staying

• If you rely on specialized medical equipment, put together a small kit of replacement parts you might need; see if your equipment can run on a battery back up. If so, for how long? Can you store more than one battery pack?

• Instead of leaving, does it make more sense for someone to come and stay with you to ride out the storm because of your set-up at home?

• Have an extra pair of eyeglasses on hand

• Fill bathtub(s) with water so you will have a supply, particularly if you have a well

• Make sure everyone in the household knows how to turn off the water, electricity and gas if necessary

• Get cash from the bank because ATMs won't work without power

• Fill your car with gasoline

• Check on neighbors, friends and relatives before the storm to see if they are prepared or if you can help in any way

• Choose ready-to-eat foods that you can fit into your diet plan, whether you have heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, food allergies, or any other special dietary requirements. Shelters will not have foods to meet special needs. Three days of food is minimum.
• Foods should not require refrigeration or cooking

• Check with your pharmacist if you take medicine you keep in the refrigerator. Some medicines will not harm you if they’re not refrigerated, but their shelf life may be shortened

• A full freezer should keep food frozen for about 2 days; if the freezer is half-filled, figure about a day

• Now -- fill plastic bags with ice and keep making more. You can fill a cooler with the saved ice if the power goes out, if you never lose power, you can dump it in the sink

• Keep the freezer door shut unless you are adding ice to the freezer to keep food frozen

• Refrigerated foods will be fine for about 6 hours. To learn what to toss, visit the US Department of Agriculture food safety site

• If you’re in a winter storm, remember you can put things like milk outside your door or window (if you have a large ledge) to keep it cold

• Never use a charcoal grill indoors – it releases carbon monoxide that can kill you; gas grills are also hazardous

• You may use a small camp grill indoors for a short time, with windows open for ventilation and the grill positioned so that blowing drapes or nearby furniture cannot catch fire

• Walk around your home (if it is safe to do so) to see if there is any damage or serious hazards such as live power lines on the ground: notify authorities of any hazards, and board up any broken windows or make other temporary repairs you can accomplish safely

• Don’t go sightseeing; many injuries occur after the storm has passed

• Do not drink tap water unless you know it is safe to do so (water supplies have not been contaminated)

• Check in with neighbors, and if you have telephone service, relatives and friends to let them know you’re okay, and see how they’re doing

• Restock your storm kit

• Count your blessings