Your Ducks in a Row: Creating a Caregiver Emergency Plan

Creating a caregiver emergency plan is one of the most important things you need to consider. This is both as a caregiver and someone who is being cared for.

Being a caregiver means you give a lot of love and time to someone else. It’s a job that needs you to pay close attention to your charge and be ready for everything and anything.

Most caregivers are great at handling daily tasks and small problems.

But that’s not really indicative of one’s capabilities when there’s something big going on. As such, making a caregiver emergency plan is necessary and extremely important.

You’re not hoping for bad things to happen, but just making sure your loved one is still cared for smoothly, even when unexpected things mess up your routine.

What’s a Caregiver Emergency Plan Anyway?

A caregiver emergency plan is a detailed paper or document that holds important facts, contacts, and steps to follow if you, the main caregiver, can’t be there for a short time or even forever. It’s a lifesaver for both the person you care for and anyone who steps in to help. Eleanor Gaccetta’s One Caregiver’s Journey shows how life with long-term care can be full of surprises. Her story, caring for her mother 24/7 for almost ten years through a broken hip and dementia, definitely makes you think about how useful a plan like this would have been.

Why You Need an Emergency Plan as a Caregiver

Why is creating a caregiver emergency plan so important? Imagine that you, the main caregiver, get sick. What can you do for your patient? Without a clear plan, these moments can quickly turn into a mess, putting your loved one’s health and safety at risk.

Also, think about how much stress a new person stepping in might feel.

Trying to help someone you don’t know much about, with no notes on their medicines, what they can eat, their health history, or even their daily habits, can lead to stress, mistakes, and inadequate care.

A well-made caregiver emergency plan helps a lot with mitigating this stress. It gives clear directions to anyone who steps in. It makes sure important details are easy to find, so the change is smooth and care stays steady. It’s all about helping anyone who might need to fill your shoes, even for a little while, do a good job and feel confident.

What to Consider in Any Caregiver Emergency Plan

Important information should be written down and put in a folder or large envelope. In the case of an emergency, first responders will ask a multitude of questions and having all this information consolidated in one place is invaluable and timesaving in an emergency. Creating a caregiver emergency plan means paying close attention to small details and thinking about every part of the care recipient’s life. Here are the main things to include:

Who to Call in an Emergency

• Your emergency contacts with their full names and phone numbers to call if something happens to your loved one and you are not with them.
• Doctors and other medical help, including their regular doctor, specialists, pharmacy, therapists, and any home health groups. Write down their names, phone numbers, and office hours.
• Emergency Services, which include local police, fire department, and ambulance (like 911 in the US).

Health Information

• A full and up-to-date list of all medicines (prescribed and over-the-counter) that includes how much to give, how often, when, and why they take each one. Write down any allergies or known reactions.
• Health history, so major health problems, past operations, long-term conditions, and ongoing treatments can be made known.
• Allergies to food, medicines, or things in the environment.
• Insurance info and where to find copies of health insurance cards (like Medicare or private insurance) and medicine discount cards. It is best to have copies of insurance cards with other important information.
• Important medical papers, such as a living will or a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order. Clearly state where the original copies are.
• Pharmacy info that takes note of the name, address, and phone number of their usual pharmacy.

Daily Routines and What They Like

• Daily Schedule, making note of when they wake up, eat meals, bathe, do activities, and go to bed.
• Food needs, including any food allergies, special diets (like no salt), or if food needs to be soft or pureed.
• Personal care preferences, like how they like to be bathed, dressed, groomed, helped with the restroom, and moved around (like how to help them get up and down from a sitting position, walk, or use a wheelchair).
• How the patient communicates: write down how they can communicate what they need and if there are special signs or ways to understand them.
• Comfort and likes, especially their favorite things to do, TV shows, comfort items, or special ways they like to be calmed if they get upset.

Money and Legal Stuff

• Who has financial Power of Attorney, their name, and contact information. A copy of the document is helpful.
• Bank accounts (no need for full account numbers), which branches are frequented, and who can access them for basic needs.
• Important papers, like birth certificates, social security cards, wills, and other key legal documents.

Support Group and Backup Caregivers

• Backup caregivers are people who are willing and able to help. Include their contact info, when they are able to help, and any special skills they have (like if they are a nurse).
• Emergency short-term care, especially local places like adult day care or home care groups, can help for a short time.
• Support groups/community help, which is basically a list of any groups or services that you or the person you care for uses.

The Basic Steps to Making an Emergency Plan

There’s a lot more that goes into making an emergency plan that’s been mentioned in this article, but here are some important steps you need to remember:

1. Gather everything by collecting all the papers you need: medicine bottles, insurance cards, doctor’s notes, contact lists, and legal papers. It’s good to keep all of this in one binder or a secure digital file.
2. Include details from the person you care for, if they can. Their ideas about what they like, their routines, and what makes them comfortable can be very helpful.
3. Find backup caregivers, which is probably the most important step. Talk to family, friends, or trusted neighbors who might be willing to help. Ask them how much they can help and what kind of support they might need.
4. Teach back-up caregivers what they need to know. Once you know who will help, spend time with them. Go through the daily routine, explain how to give medicines, show them how to help with moving around, and point out where all the important information is. This hands-on training will make them feel more confident.
5. Organize and write your plan down. Choose how you want to keep the plan – a paper binder, a secure computer file, or both. Make sure it’s clearly labeled and easy for authorized people to find. You can use a checklist to make sure you don’t miss anything.
6. Keep it safe but easy to get to because the plan needs to be easy for your chosen helpers to find but also kept private. Tell your backup caregivers where the plan is.

Don’t wait for a crisis to strike. Start creating a caregiver emergency plan today and secure peace of mind for both you and your loved one.

If you want to know more about the necessity of having a caregiver emergency plan, read Eleanor Gaccetta’s One Caregiver’s Journey.