Remember the floods that devastated Nashville, TN this past spring? Have you thought about how a disaster that would impact your caregiving? If you haven’t, you need to, and the good news is that there’s a terrific resource to help you plan for a natural or man-made disaster.

The first thing you need to realize is that disasters happen in the blink of an eye. As one 76-year-old survivor of the Nashville flood said, “that water came up so fast, and it just changed everything,” including her ability to care for her beloved pet and access prescription medications. 

Caregivers get so focused on the day-to-day that considering something disaster preparedness is not on the to-do list. But it’s not that hard to do with the help of a guide published through the American Red Cross. “Disaster Preparedness for Seniors by Seniors,” actually is applicable to any caregiving situation.

The authors banded together after a massive ice storm struck the greater Rochester, New York area in December, 2003. The storm left people stranded in homes that were without power for days. Have you thought about how to prepare for that type of situation, with extra medications, food and heat sources on hand? These 12 seniors lived through that disaster and published the booklet to help other people prepare for future disasters.

You may be completely absorbed in caring for your loved one, but it is necessary to stop and consider what would happen to you—and to your patient—in the event of an evacuation from home caused by any one of a long list of potential natural or man-made disasters in your area. What if you’re stranded in your home, the people in Rochester? If your loved one is in a care facility, there is ly a disaster plan in place there. Do you know what it is?

I hope these questions will motivate you to visit the nearest American Red Cross office, your local senior center, or your local fire department, to get help in creating your disa...

Ever since the days after the September 11, 2001 attacks I’ve been touting the importance of a personalized disaster plan. Then again after Hurricane Katrina. Why? Because there is no such thing as a one-size-fits all disaster plan. How prepared would you be if death, illness or unforeseen events kept you from coming home? Is there a child, friend or other close relative who would have care interrupted if something were to happen to you? What about I.D. theft? Do you have a plan? These are only two of a potential dozens of scenarios you might wish to address in your own personal plan. A qualified financial planner is a good source of feedback and can suggest ways to organize the various aspects of the plan. He or she can also advise you on ways to structure a report so it can be read and understood by others. Remember – a disaster plan is worthless if your loved ones, attorneys or financial experts don’t know it exists. According to the Financial Planning Assoc., here are some steps to get you started:

Develop a “what if” list. Consider every possible event that could hurt you, your family, your home or your business – what hurts one automatically hurts the rest. The first question – what if you died or became disabled tomorrow? Could your family and business continue to function while they worked through the aftermath? A good way to make the list is to draw a line down the middle, and on the left side list every possible risk, while writing every possible remedy for those risks on the right side.

Check your insurances. Coverage should be double-checked with your agent once a year or when major changes occur in your life, such as marriages, divorces, new kids, business expansion or contraction. If you work for an employer, check with their human resources department on the right person your health power of attorney or advance directive designee would call if there were any question about your benefits if you died or were incapacitated. Make sure your coverage is adequate based on any of the emergency scenarios you’ve developed. If you need help… get it!

Make sure your reserve fund is healthy. In any emergency, cash is king. If your family or colleagues had to pay the mortgage or rent, make payroll, buy groceries, temporarily relocate, pay your out-of-pocket costs for healthcare services, and even pay for your funeral, would they be able to access cash to do it? If you have designated a financial power of attorney, they need to be aware of these assets and have access to them.

Create physical contingency plans: If your family was in different places when a disaster occurred, do you all know where you’d meet and/or make contact? Set up an effective communications plan to go into effect the moment trouble happens.

Plan an escape kit. If you had to leave home within a very short period of time, what would you take? Key financial and insurance documents would be a must, so make...