When a storm is coming, many elderly and hospice patients either cannot or will not evacuate. If you are a care giver of patients who refuse to leave the dangerous vicinity, your best bet is to encourage them to make an emergency kit, prepare a disaster action plan, and stay informed of weather updates. Along with helping your hospice patients prepare for the storm, you should also ensure that they always receive the best care by using an excellent telephone answering service.
Make An Emergency Kit
One of the first things that care givers should do when preparing for a catastrophic storm is help their hospice patients make a disaster emergency kit. The emergency kit should contain medical supplies, non-perishable food, water, prescription drugs, blankets, clothes, flash light, batteries, medical insurance cards, eye glasses, and hearing aids. There should also be a list of emergency contact numbers in the disaster supply kit.
Prepare a Disaster Action Plan
When caring for hospice patients, it’s absolutely necessary to prepare a disaster action plan. As a care giver, you should encourage close family members to work with their loved one to establish a support network of friends and neighbors just in case home care services are not available, which shouldn’t happen if your company enlists the help of an excellent telephone company like Centratel Telephone Answering Service. In the event that family, friends, or neighbors have to provide care to the hospice patient for a little while, the people who are in the network should have an extra key to the home, be aware of where emergency supplies are kept, and know how to administer medication.
Stay Informed and Communicate
Before a catastrophic storm hits, you and your hospice patients should stay informed of weather conditions. The best way to stay informed is to listen to the television and radio during a disaster. In addition, cell phones can be used to obtain National Weather Service updates and alerts as well as to stay in touch with emergency contacts. Just remember to use cell phones sparingly to conserve the battery.
In the face of a storm, caring for hospice patients can be a stressful situation for many caregivers. Because of the unpredictability of these types of catastrophic events, some care givers may need to call out for a shift. When a call out occurs, your company needs a high-quality telephone answering service by your side. Our excellent answering service will not only capture the care giver’s call out, but it will also ensure that the message gets to the on call staffing supervisor in a timely manner so that the shift can be covered. Instead of relying on voicemail or a phone tree during a catastrophic storm, trust our exceptional telephone answering service to help you provide the best care to your hospice patients.
