DISASTER SAFETY PREP CHECKLIST FOR SENIORS

With severe weather season upon us in the U.S., older adults may be among the most vulnerable victims when disasters strike.  That's why Home Instead Senior Care, the international caregiving company with more than 800 locations in 15 countries, has issued a disaster safety preparation checklist to help prepare seniors for the possibility of natural disasters.

“We know that a disaster can be deadly for some seniors because of physical and other limitations,” said Bob Vielee, owner of the Home Instead Office serving Lackawanna, Monroe, Pike, Wayne and Wyoming counties. “That’s why the sooner the better for families to talk with their senior loved ones and begin preparing in advance for any kind of emergency that could threaten their health or safety. Consider this checklist as you help your older adult get ready."

Home Instead Senior Care's Disaster Prep Checklist For Seniors:

 

____Tune in.  Contact the local emergency management office to learn about the most likely natural disasters to strike your area.  Stay abreast of what’s going on through your local radio or television. 

____Take stock.  Decide what your senior can or can’t do in the event of a natural disaster.  Make a list of what would be needed if a disaster occurred.  For example, if your loved one is wheelchair-bound, determine an evacuation strategy ahead of time. Prepare for whatever disaster could hit the area.

____ To go or to stay?  When deciding to evacuate, older adults should go sooner rather than later.  By waiting too long, they may be unable to leave if they require assistance.

  

____ Make a plan.  Schedule a family meeting to develop a plan of action.  Include in your plan key people – such as neighbors, friends, relatives and professional caregivers – who could help. 

____More than one way out.  Seniors should develop at least two escape routes: one to evacuate their home and one to evacuate their community.  The local emergency management office can tell you escape routes out of the community.

____Meet up.  Designate a place to meet relatives or key support network people outside the house, as well as a second location outside the neighborhood, such as a school or church.  Practice the plan twice a year. 

____Get up and “Go Kit.”  Have an easy-to-carry backpack including three days non-perishable food and water with an additional four days of food and water readily accessible at home.  Have at least one gallon of bottled water per person per day.  Refresh and replace your supplies at least twice a year.  And don’t forget the blanket and paper products such as toilet paper.

____Pack extras and copies.  Have at least a one-month supply of medication on hand at all times.  Make ready other important documents in a waterproof protector including copies of prescriptions, car title registration and driver’s license, insurance documents and bank account numbers, and spare checkbook.  Also take extra eyeglasses and hearing-aid batteries.  Label every piece of important equipment or personal item in case they are lost.

____Your contact list.  Compile a contact list and include people on a senior’s support network as well as doctors and other important health-care professionals.

____If you can’t be there.  If you’re not living close by to help your loved one, enlist the help of family or friends, or contact a professional caregiving company. 

The Top Eight Medication Pitfalls for Seniors

Seniors on multiple medications begin a slippery slope that can lead to disaster if their medications are not properly managed, according to a representative for the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP).

On average, seniors ages 85 and older take 34 prescriptions, including refills, per year, according to the ASCP. The average number of unique prescriptions for that group is 6.3. The 75 to 84 demographic is nearly as high with an average of just over 33 prescriptions per year and 6.7 unique prescriptions.

“Adverse drug reactions are very common and not always recognized by patient or physician as drug side effects,” said Thomas Clark, RPh, MHS, CGP, director of Clinical Affairs for the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists and the ASCP Foundation who served as expert source for the Answering the Call^SM program. The program is designed to help adult children be better prepared for an emergency with their senior loved one.

The Home Instead Senior Care^® network worked with Humana Points of Caregiving^® to develop the Senior Emergency Kit^SM, an information management tool to help older adults and their families track medications in an effort to prevent problems. This toolkit provides family caregivers with everything they need to be prepared for an emergency. Following are the common types of medication-related problems from the ASCP:

1.      Untreated conditions – The patient has a medical condition that requires drug therapy, but is not receiving a drug for that condition.

2.      Drug use without indication – The patient is taking a medicine for no medically valid condition or reason.

3.      Improper drug selection – The patient’s medical condition is being treated with the wrong drug or a drug that is not the most appropriate for the special needs of the patient.

4.      Subtherapeutic dosage – The patient has a medical condition that is being treated with too little of the correct medication.

5.      Overdosage – The patient has a medical problem that is being treated with too much of the correct medication.

6.      Adverse drug reactions – The patient has a medical condition that is the result of an adverse drug reaction (ADR) or adverse effect. In the case of older adults, ADRs contribute to already existing geriatric problems such as falls, urinary incontinence, constipation and weight loss.

7.      Drug interactions – The patient has a medical condition that is the result of a drug interacting negatively with another drug or a food.

8.      Failure to receive medication – The patient has a medical condition that is the result of not receiving a medication due to economic, psychological, sociological or pharmaceutical reasons.

For more information, visit the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists at www.ascp.com. Check out www.SeniorEmergencyKit.com to learn more about the management tool, or contact your local Home Instead Senior Care office.

Home Helper Could Assist Patients Discharged from Hospital

A recent study has identified an unusual phenomenon. For senior citizens, hospitalizations actually may cause temporary memory loss and difficulty in understanding discharge instructions, according to a Northwestern Medicine study. 

The seniors go back to normal one month after the hospital stay, the study found. But immediately following a hospitalization is a critical time in which seniors may need extra support from healthcare professionals and family, according to Lee Lindquist, M.D., the lead author of the study, published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

 “A helper on the day of discharge could make sure a senior understands discharge instructions and help her get home and follow instructions safely,” Lindquist said. “If a patient is by herself the day of a hospital discharge, it’s possible that she won’t comprehend complicated medical instructions, increasing medication errors and chances of re-hospitalization.”  

More than 200 seniors, age 70 and older, who lived on their own in the Chicago area and were not diagnosed with dementia or other cognitive problems, took part in the study. At the time of discharge, cognition tests were administered to examine mental status. Almost one-third had low cognition that was previously unrecognized. One month later, 58 percent of those patients no longer had low cognition. They had significant improvement in areas of orientation, registration, repetition, comprehension, naming, reading, writing and calculation.

“When the senior is no longer sick enough to be in the hospital, it doesn’t mean they’re 100 percent ready to be on their own,” Lindquist said. “It’s a critical time and they need extra support and understanding from healthcare professionals and family.”

Help ensure that your mother is safe by providing extra assistance for the days and weeks after she returns home from the hospital. If you or another family member can’t be with her the entire time she’s recuperating, contact your local Home Instead Senior Care^® office at 888-294-6785.

A Home Instead CAREGiver ^SM can serve as a second set of eyes and ears to assist your mom with such activities as companionship, meal preparation, light housekeeping and medication reminders. All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured.