How to Prepare for an Emergency Involving Your Senior

While no one wants to think about a medical emergency involving their senior, it’s important to plan for these unexpected situations so that relatives can provide help quickly. Follow these steps for preparing for a medical emergency involving an elderly individual:

Create a schedule to check on the senior

According to those who work in senior care, Iowa families can resolve emergency situations effectively when they get their senior medical attention quickly. However, long-term complications kick in when no one realizes that the senior is having a problem until hours or days later.

To prevent this from happening, create a schedule of individuals who will check on that senior. This can include eldercare professionals, neighbors, relatives, and friends. When it comes to elder care, Cedar Rapids families should develop a network of people who are willing to look out for that senior. When the elderly person has regular visitors, it helps to put a stop to a medical crisis before it is allowed to progress too far.

Get keys to the home

In order to allow caregivers to provide quick assistance, they must have keys to the senior’s home or apartment. They should know any gate codes, and should be able to get into the home quickly in the event that an emergency occurs.

Communicate regularly

If your senior lives alone, they should communicate with you regularly. Those who care for elderly people should consider setting up a regular time to talk with their elderly loved one on the phone. This way, if that phone call does not occur, the person knows to check on the senior to verify that they’re okay.

Know how to locate important documents

In case of a medical emergency, you’ll want to know how to locate important documents that your senior may need as they head to the hospital. This could include lists of medications that the elderly individual is taking, insurance information, and names and contact information for doctors. Know where this information is stored, or keep a copy on hand in your residence in order to be able to retrieve it quickly.

If you’re the primary caregiver for your senior, make it a point to put a plan in place should you have to go out of town or be unavailable for the day. Your elderly loved one should always have someone checking up on them and available to assist.