As the winter season approaches, our seniors must be prepared for the challenges that a winter storm can bring. The cold temperatures and the potential for heavy snowfall and icy conditions can pose significant risks to seniors. Winter storms make it vitally important to have a plan in place to be able to provide a safe and comfortable home environment. With my personal experiences as a community health nurse for ten years and my current passion for making sure we take care of our elderly in the home, I felt compelled to write this guide.
Medication
With an impending storm watch, it is very important to make sure you have a surplus of medications to last for a four-day period. Most pharmacies will work with you in refilling medications a few days early to prevent an emergency situation in the home. Seniors are in the mindset that they can just call their pharmacist if they need more medication, not thinking about the possibility of the conditions being so bad that no deliveries can be made right away. Or perhaps they just call their daughter or son to pick up the medication as they usually do, but due to conditions at the time, it is not going to be possible.
Food Surplus
Due to the current cost of food in our country, I doubt that any senior citizen on a fixed income has their pantries filled with non-perishable items as they did years ago. It is our responsibility to make sure that if there is a potential storm coming, we get to the store and prepare for them in case the roads should become impassable. It is a really good idea to get some things that don’t require cooking so in the event that the electricity should go off for any extended time period, there are still food items to eat. Also, make sure that the personal care items they use are in place. Examples would be toilet paper, toothpaste, depends, wipes, etc. The items they would need to take care of themselves.
Flashlights
When our seniors are in their homes alone at night and the electricity should go out, it is a frightening experience. Flashlights are very important to have in your home with a surplus of extra batteries, and they should be easily accessible. It is a very good idea to check if they have flashlights in the house when completing your in-home assessment, not only for the client’s safety but also for your caregivers who would feel uncomfortable in the dark. There is a huge safety risk in the use of candles. Due to the generation we are servicing and the age of most of our clients, it was common for them to use candles when electricity wasn’t available. As part of the aging process, our lack of coordination and fine motor accuracy is affected, which would create a challenge when working with open flames. The most common diagnosis with home care clients today is dementia. We all know that with this diagnosis your safety awareness diminishes and the risk increases.
Preparing For Electricity Outage
Once we have been informed of a storm coming our way, it is very important to make sure all devices are charged so everyone in the home has an open mode of communication to others not in the home. A battery-operated radio is good to have so you can check the status of the storm and the outcome of the damage after a storm that could have affected your area.
Breathing
One thing that people forget sometimes is that you need an emergency plan if your client uses oxygen in the home. The oxygen condensers use electricity, so if there is no electricity there is no air to breathe. Make sure you have a filled portable oxygen tank to use for emergencies. Also, if your client uses a BIPAP or CPAP machine to sleep, check with the company who supplies the machine to discuss the emergency battery backup for the system.
Warmth In The Home
Unfortunately, if there is no electricity in the home, there is no heat. You will need to have extra blankets and jackets easily accessible if you need them. To keep your clients warm, you can dress them with multiple layers to keep them more comfortable. If the home has a wood-burning stove, you must bring an ample supply of wood into the home to use during the storm. If electricity is out for an extended period of time and your clients are ambulatory, have them get up to walk every couple of hours. This will increase the blood flow in their bodies, providing some warmth from the increase in circulation. If you are caring for a couple, it is a really good idea to encourage them to cuddle. This will also help with warmth, making them happy and smiling.
Safety
It is also a very good idea before you actually need it, to line up someone that you can call for snow removal. There should be a bag of ice melt or equivalent by your front door to make sure your porch and steps stay free from ice buildup. The other thing that you need to establish even before a winter storm is a point of contact. Someone in the family needs to check in with our seniors on a daily basis. The phone call need not be lengthy, just a way to confirm the safety of the senior at home.
Someone very close to me has an expression that he lives by that I would like to pass on to all of you. It is better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. My personal experience that I would like to share with all of you is to get yourself an emergency bin that you can use to put together all of the emergency items you may need in one place. We all must remember that getting around your house in the dark trying to locate a flashlight or an extra blanket is not easy and could be very dangerous. I have an emergency bin that includes all of my flashlights, two battery-operated lanterns, a battery-operated radio, extra batteries, a first aid kit, two blankets, a roll of toilet paper, and some bottled water. Nothing stored in that bin is wasted, you will always be able to keep your supplies for your next storm preparation.
Preparing our seniors for winter storms is about ensuring their safety, comfort, and peace of mind for your clients and their families. If you have the necessary items in the home our seniors can face winter storms feeling safe and secure.