Hurricane Florence: Caregiver Preparation

Here are some things caregivers should focus on when preparing for Hurricane Florence or other emergencies:

• Financial and legal preparedness: Ensure key documents for financial records, health care power of attorney and other advance directives are easy to access in case of an emergency. Perhaps make electronic copies available via a secure online storage app.
• Alerts and warnings: Set up wireless emergency alerts on smartphone; get a weather radio, check out other options.
• Emergency communication plans: With contact lists always handy in our smartphones, few of us have memorized key phone numbers. But you can’t depend on cellphone service under severe conditions, so have a written list of key family members’ contact information. Would your loved ones know how to contact you in an emergency?
• Emergency supplies: Get power-failure lights in the house. Keep emergency health supplies in cars and in the home. Have bottled water and a supply of canned foods in the house, and make sure medications are in containers that would be protected and easy to take. Keeping a basic disaster supply kit in a handy location is a good idea; if you’ve already done that, you need to check the supplies once a year to be sure everything is still in good condition.
• Property and insurance: Take photos of your property and double-check your insurance coverage. Make digital copies of family photos and scan older ones.

Find out the latest on Florence from the VA Department of Emergency Management.