Eldercare Safety Kit

By Sarah Bennett-Astesano

If you are the point person for an elderly relative living alone, one of your chief concerns is your elder’s safety. You have probably spent time making your loved one’s home as safe as it can be, but what if something does happen? Whether it’s a personal medical emergency, a brief power outage or a natural disaster, you need an eldercare safety kit.

A Communications Center

Create a communications center in your elder’s home to ensure that vital information is easy to find and use on a routine basis, advises Romie Myers, R.N., of FamilyCareGiversOnline.com, a Web site devoted to supporting caregivers. Many people use the kitchen as a convenient central storage location for this information, she says.

“Emergency workers such as firefighters are trained to go to the kitchen and check the outside and inside of the refrigerator for emergency information,” Myers notes.

Anyone who routinely comes to the home and provides care should know where the communications center is.