Take action NOW to plan for the worst and hope for the best!
It’s official! As of March 20, 2022 we rolled into spring.
Here in Northern California, it seems Mother Nature is eager to turn up the heat. A few days ago a light jacket was a great idea before stepping out.
Tuesday when I stepped outdoors, I was met with a blast of extremely warm air. The mercury showed 86-degrees at 3:48 PM. Yep… a new season is upon us.
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That means a couple of things.
Beautiful flowers are blooming.
It’s a perfect time to map out your garden.
Depending on where you live, nightfall sets off a chorus of frogs 🐸 croaking.
Now is also the perfect time to start thinking about the reality of wildfire season!
Get ready
In the summer of 2021, when Keeping it REAL Caregiving first launched, I shared an article urging everyone to think about emergency safety.
I’m taking this opportunity to revisit the topic, especially if you are a caregiver to an elder. Remember, responding to an emergency situation can look and feel much different when you have an elder or someone with limited mobility to care for. Here’s a short excerpt from that article:
Plan & Prepare
In the same way first responders urge all of us to plan & prepare for natural emergencies such as fire, if you are a caregiver to an elder you should put emergency plans in place before a crisis hits. It is what I call the ‘help us help you’ approach.
Situational awareness
Each region may offer slightly different programs, but regardless of where you live, I urge you to take a few minutes NOW – to review your emergency evacuation plans. Consider the following:
Do you know your evacuation routes?
Do you have an emergency ‘go-bag’ packed and ready to roll?
If your loved one takes medications, do you have a plan for grabbing those items for quick evacuation?
What about any specific medical equipment? Have you considered a plan for getting those items into a vehicle if necessary?
If your loved one/elder is at a facility, have you asked if the location has an emergency back-up generator?
Have you reviewed what their evacuation plan is should an emergency force the evacuation of clients? Where would they go and how would they be transported? Is there a contigency plan in place?
These are ‘worst-case-scenario’ situations, but as a news professional, I’ve seen far too many of those ‘never going to happen to me’ moments … happen to people!
Plan for the worst but hope for the best
The threat of wildfire or other natural disasters is now part of the fabric of living in the Golden State.
Here are a few other items to consider:
1. Contact your local fire department (city or county) to ask about emergency-alert programs that are in place.
Keeping it REAL Caregiving told you how the Chico Fire Department encourages homeowners and businesses to submit critical information well in advance of emergencies through a program called Community Connect.
2. Check with your utility to learn how to sign up for any emergency power notifications.
3. Already registered? Review to make sure all your information is correct.
Pacific Gas & Electric is holding a series of wildfire emergency planning webinars for the counties it serves. You can check the schedule here.
For those of us in Butte and Plumas Counties in Northern California, mark the calendar for May 18, 2022. That’s the date for an online event.
4. Check out various resources (varies from each state) provided by Cal Fire at ReadyforWildifire.org.
5. Southern California Edison customers, you can find information on upcoming events and wildfire mitigation plans offered by that utility, as well.
Bottom line: don’t wait until an emergency is in front of you. As caregivers, we MUST be proactive!
SAVE THE DATE & JOIN US!
The next Keeping it REAL Caregiving Sunday Coffee Chat & Support Hour is Sunday, April 3, 2022 @ 8:00 AM Pacific/ 11:00 AM Eastern.
Join us for a powerful discussion about how we cope and move through loss and grief.
KIRC will be joined by our special guest, Toni Miles, MD, PhD, FGSA, Epidemiologist.
Dr. Miles is an advisor to eldercare initiatives including the CDC Healthy Brain, Georgia’s Alzheimer’s Task Force, and the John A. Hartford Foundation.
Based at the University of Georgia, Dr. Miles works with organizations to identify Best Practices in Bereavement Care.
This is one conversation you don’t want to miss! We’ll be streaming live on Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Login details coming soon!
Until next time~
Julia
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*Header image: Courtesy Getty Images/Vibro1
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