Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper

Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards, may force you to evacuate your home or shelter-in-place at short notice. It is important to know what to do in case of an emergency well before disaster strikes. If you are an older adult living in the community, you may face some challenges during an emergency. For example, you may have mobility problems, or chronic health conditions, or you may not have any family or friends nearby to support you. Support services that are usually available, such as help from caregivers or in-home health care and meal delivery services, may be unavailable for a period of time. In addition, older adults may experience challenges that come with advanced age, such as hearing or vision problems or cognitive impairment, which may make it difficult to access, understand, and respond to emergency instructions.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper You or the person you care for can be prepared for emergency situations by creating a plan, reviewing or practicing it regularly, and keeping an emergency supply kit. Permalink: https://nursingpaperessays.com/ emergency-plan-f…dult-essay-paper / Emergency planning is important for older adults. The first step in preparing for an emergency is creating a plan. Work with your friends, family, and neighbors to develop a plan that will fit your needs. Choose a contact person who will check on you during a disaster, and decide how you will communicate with each other (for instance, by telephone, knocking on doors). Consider speaking with your neighbors about developing a check-in system together. Create a list of contact information for family members and friends. Leave a copy by your phone(s) and include one in your Emergency Supply Kit. Plan how you will leave and where you will go during an evacuation. If you are living in a retirement or assisted living community, learn what procedures are in place in case of emergencies. Keep a copy of exit routes and meeting places in an easy-to-reach place.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper Create a care plan and keep a copy in your Emergency Supply Kit. Try out CDC’s easy-to-use care plan template Cdc-pdf . If you have medical, transportation, or other access needs during an emergency, consider signing up for SMART911, Code Red, or your local county registry, depending upon which service your area uses to helps first responders identify people who may need assistance right away. After an emergency, you may not have access to clean water or electricity. Make sure you are prepared with your own supply of food, water, and other items to last for at least 72 hours. Visit Ready.gov External for a list of basic items to gather for your Disaster Supply Kit. Medical-Related Items: A 3-day supply of medicine, at a minimum. If medications need to be kept cold, have a cooler and ice packs available. ID band (full name, contact number for family member/caregiver, and allergies) Hearing aids and extra batteries Glasses and/or contacts and contact solution Medical supplies like syringes or extra batteries Information about medical devices such as wheelchairs, walkers, and oxygen including model numbers and vender. Documents (Keep physical copies in a waterproof bag and take photos of each document for backup): Your Care Plan Cdc-pdf Contact information for family members, doctors, pharmacies and/or caregivers List of all medications, including the exact name of the medicine and the dosage, and contact information for pharmacy and doctor who prescribed medicine List of allergies to food or medicines Copies of medical insurance cards Copies of a photo ID Durable power of attorney and/or medical power of attorney documents, as appropriate. Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper The elderly in America have many needs that can range from transportation, a little more money, and even just a little companionship but one of their major needs is advocacy. They need someone to stand up and fight with them for what the need. The elderly of today did so much for this country such things as fight both world wars and the Korean Conflict, they fought for equality, and the escalated this country to the greatness we have today. So what is an advocate? Advocate is a person or group that represents a common interest and goes to great lengths to see that their cause is not neglected. So why does our elderly need advocates? Our elderly need advocates for various reasons. Another service offered is protection against abuse and neglect. Many people such as family, friends, neighbors, and strangers who are scam artist, robbers, and murders can abuse the elderly. They also can be neglect by the same people but there is one more person on this list that is themselves. An older person can often neglect themselves because they don’t have the money to pay for extra bills and proper healthcare or they may even feel that those things are just a part of aging. The Office for the Aging receive many calls from concerned family members and friends of elderly that they feel that that person is being neglected or abused. The office then will investigate and review the situation and decide the proper course of action.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper They also provide financial counseling on things like taxes, bills, balancing a checkbook, and budgeting. Financial counselors will sit down with an older person either in their office or at the home of the elderly person discuss the best option and how to go about following through with the plan. The Office for the aging also can assist in finding proper care centers when an older person either cannot or decide they do not want is in the community anymore. Depression is one of the most recurrently investigated psychological disorders within the area of medical R&D (Montorio & Izal, 1996). A number of exhaustive researches have been carried out to study its symptoms and impacts on different patients belonging to different personal and professional attributes and most of these researchers depicted that depression in the elderly people is very frequent and in spite of number of researches in this context, it is often undiagnosed or untreated. To add to this jeopardy, it has also been estimated that only 10% out of the total depressed elderly individuals receive proper diagnosis and treatment (Holroyd et al, 2000). • Population: Adults, age 65 and older. • Score: The inventory provides a Total Score and five Primary Dimensions: Negative Mood, Interpersonal Problems, Ineffectiveness, Anhedonia, and Negative Self Esteem. • Time: 35 minutes Description: The DIE has been designed to measure depressive symptoms for elderly individuals. The self-administered inventory consists of 90 items related to such depressive symptoms as depressed mood, withdrawal, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, difficultly making decisions, vegetative functions, self–evaluation and interpersonal behaviors. • Norms: The normative sample included 1266 retired individuals residing in Florida age 65 to 91. There were 350 men between the ages of 65 and 85, and 750 women ages 65 to 91. The population was mostly middle to upper class retirees.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper • Scoring: The inventory uses a 5-point scale of distress (0–4), ranging from “not at all” (0) to “extremely” (4). The DIE yields raw scores and T scores for the Total Score and Primary Dimension scores. Results are hand scored. T scores above 65 on the Total Score and the Primary Dimensions are considered in the “clinical range.” • Reliability: Internal consistency reliability has been found to be range from .71 to .89 with an assortment of The Practicality of the Elderly in Contemporary Society After reading Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”, I was mesmerized by a certain paragraph on page five. In said paragraph, Thoreau states how worthless the elderly actually are. He writes about them having no advice worth listening to and how any valuable experience he has gained throughout his life was not taught to him by his seniors. More specifically, he says “I have lived some thirty years on this planet, and I have yet to hear the first syllable of valuable or even earnest advice from my seniors.” This stance is magnanimously contradictory, as most of the world would be opposed to such ridicule. Ponder on the topic and ask if there truly is any usefulness of old people. I feel that there is some truth behind the Thoreau’s diction. The elderly can grant no largess of economical gifts, however they do provide a strong basis for moral and ethical enlightenment. This essay will be divided into two main sections. The first section has four subdivisions while the second section has three. In section one, I will dive into the economic burdens old people place on the world. The first subdivision in this section will prove that old folks are economic burdens, followed by subdivision two where I tell of the simple change needed to fix that problem.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper As one ages, the body accumulates a myriad of multidimensional changes in the realms of physical, biological, psychological, and social alterations. These changes can manifest from a deficiency in one area or an abundance in another. According to the student nurse, these changes can be functional, potentially dysfunctional, or dysfunctional based on Gordon’s Functional Health Patterns. The student nurse conducts a similar interview and assessment process with each patient to gather subjective and objective data related to the health and wellness of the individual. The function of the student nurse’s interview process using Gordon’s Functional Health Patterns reflects the purpose of the interviewing an elderly individual This health pattern is dysfunctional with a nursing diagnosis of risk for falls related to difficulty with gait. This is the second priority mainly because of her history with two falls within the last year. The objective data supports this as the second priority due to an unsteady, hunched gait when ambulating and a scar on her head. When E.K. walks her face is looking down and her upper torso is hunched forward. The subjective data which supports this nursing diagnosis includes her admitting that she had two falls which resulted in minor injury within the past year. The scar on her head is from the most recent fall which resulted in several staples. Even though there are no stairs in her home, she accredited that both falls were due to losing her balance and not being able to prevent herself from falling to the ground. The accumulation of the objective and subjective data support this health pattern as dysfunctional and the second priority nursing diagnosis. The third priority nursing diagnosis is under the elimination health pattern.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper the Finnish parliament’s future commission has listed challenges in elderly peoples lives that could be overcome using new technology. The two most important inhibiting factors affecting the quality of life of elderly people were identified as solitude and immobility (O Kuusi, 2001). The purpose of this research is to identify everyday motivational needs concerning communication and mobility of elderly people and present a …show more content… • Technological solutions should contribute in travelling outside home and daily activities at home and near home. The commission has stated that solitude and immobility are the most important shortcomings that technology should attempt to alleviate (O Kuusi, 2001). Here are examples to show that researchers have started to see the importance of social and mobility needs. The importance of elderly people’s social, emotional and environmental factor needs have been found in recent researches (J abascal, 2001; KZ Haigh, J Phelps and CW Geib, 2002; T Hirsch et al., 2000 and JA Jore, 2001). They argued that designing eldercare technologies to address all these factors lowers social barriers. Nokia Mobile Phones and Work Science Laboratory in Oulu, Finland found out that the most beneficial services for elderly in the future are those by which they can maintain their social relationships, health and ability to live at home.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper Pain and Anxiety Associated with Falls in the Elderly The risk of falling dramatically increases as one ages. According to Menant et al, a fall is defined as an “unexpected event in which the person comes to the ground, floor, or lower level”. In this study conducted by Menant et al, the authors desired to distinguish certain factors that may contribute to falls associated with the elderly. Dizziness is a complaint that tends to increase as a person ages, which can also be said about the incidence of falling. According to Menant et al, dizziness symptoms can affect the activities of daily living in many elderly people. Many studies have found that dizziness can be a result from both medical and psychological factors. This study was conducted on 526 elderly individuals who were randomly selected to a dizzy and non-dizzy group from a previous cohort study in eastern Sydney, Australia. Each participant had to meet certain criteria and sign informed consent prior to partaking in this study. Participants were assessed through questionnaires & assessments. The questionnaires and assessments focused on aspects of dizziness, exercise levels, overall health, falls follow-up procedures, balance assessment, and cardiovascular, psychological, and neuromuscular function.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper This study uses interview data collected from public health departments and aging-in-place efforts—specifically, from coordinators of age-friendly communities and village executive directors—to explore how current aging-in-place efforts can be harnessed to strengthen the disaster resilience of older adults and which existing programs or new collaborations among public health departments and these organizations show promise for improving disaster resilience for older populations. Interviews with stakeholders revealed that most age-friendly communities and senior villages did not place a high priority on promoting disaster preparedness. While most public health departments conducted or took the lead on disaster preparedness and resilience activities, they were not necessarily tailored to older adults. Aligning and extending public health departments’ current preparedness activities to include aging-in-place efforts and greater tailoring of existing preparedness activities to the needs of older adults could significantly improve their disaster preparedness and resilience. For jurisdictions that do not have an existing aging-in-place effort, public health departments can help initiate those efforts and work to incorporate preparedness activities at the outset of newly developing aging-in-place efforts.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper The increasing frequency and intensity of weather-related and other disaster events combined with the growing proportions of older adults present a new environment in which public health programs and policies must actively promote the resilience of older adults. Preparedness programs conducted by public health departments are designed to reduce mortality and morbidity and, consequently, will become even more critical, given the increasing proportion of older adults in the United States, largely due to aging baby boomers. Interviews with stakeholders revealed that most age-friendly communities (AFCs) and senior villages did not place a high priority on promoting disaster preparedness. While most public health departments we interviewed did engage in disaster preparedness and resilience activities, they were not necessarily tailored to older adults. AFCs and senior village interviewees cited older adults’ challenges with communication and low prioritization of the need to plan for disasters. These organizations also acknowledged their limited awareness of disaster preparedness and lack of demand from their constituents to provide services to help their communities be better prepared. Current aging-in-place efforts can be harnessed to strengthen the disaster resilience of older adults. Existing programs and new collaborations between public health departments and these organizations show promise for improving disaster resilience for older populations.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper The work of public health departments and aging-in-place efforts is complementary. Improving the everyday engagement of older adults with family, friends, neighbors, and trusted institutions supports other organizations’ and agencies’ preparedness work by strengthening informal ties and building information networks. Likewise, the work of helping older adults become more resilient to disasters provides an opportunity for older adults to engage with others and learn skills needed to remain safely living at home as they age. Aligning and extending public health departments’ current preparedness activities to include aging-in-place efforts and greater tailoring of existing preparedness activities to the needs of older adults could significantly improve their disaster preparedness and resilience. For jurisdictions that do not have an existing aging-in-place effort, public health departments can help initiate those efforts and work to incorporate preparedness activities at the outset of newly developing aging-in-place efforts.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper Older adults, defined for this study as adults age 65 or older, are especially vulnerable during and after disasters (Bei et al., 2013; Malik et al., 2017; Weisler, Barbee, and Townsend, 2006). For example, half of the deaths from Hurricane Katrina were adults age 75 and older (Brunkard, Namulanda, and Ratard, 2008), and 63 percent of the deaths after the 1995 heat wave in Chicago were adults age 65 or older (Whitman et al., 1997). Older adults are more likely than others in a community to be socially isolated and have multiple chronic conditions, limitations in daily activities, declining vision and hearing, and physical and cognitive disabilities that hamper their ability to communicate about, prepare for, and respond to a natural disaster (Levac, Toal-Sullivan, and O’Sullivan, 2012; Aldrich and Benson, 2008). A sizable number of adults age 65 or older (about one-third of Medicare enrollees, or approximately 16 million nationally) live alone (Komisar, Feder, and Kasper, 2005). Disasters can also disrupt essential services that allow older adults to live in the community, such as assistance from family caregivers and social services like home-delivered meals, chore services, and personal care (Benson and Aldrich, 2007). A 2012 survey found that 15 percent of U.S. adults age 50 or older would not be able to evacuate their homes without help, and half of this group would need help from someone outside the household (National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, National Council on Aging, and UnitedHealthcare, 2012). A 2014 survey of adults age 50 or older found that 15 percent of the sample used medical devices requiring externally supplied electricity (Al-Rousan, Rubenstein, and Wallace, 2014). Thus, power interruptions could pose adverse health effects for this group.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper Older adults can also contribute important assets to disaster response. A 2017 qualitative study of 17 focus groups with at-risk individuals found that adults age 65 or older contribute their experience, resources, and relationship-building capacity to prepare themselves and to support others during an emergency (Howard, Blakemore, and Bevis, 2017). Specifically, older adults both generate and mobilize social capital at the local level during a disaster. Yet there are critical gaps in disaster preparedness for this group. Although preparedness guidelines and resources exist for older adults, the 2014 survey mentioned earlier found that two-thirds of adults age 50 or older had no emergency plan, had never participated in any disaster preparedness educational program, and were not aware of the availability of relevant resources (Al-Rousan, Rubenstein, and Wallace, 2014). More than a third of respondents lacked a basic supply of food, water, or medical supplies in case of emergency (Al-Rousan, Rubenstein, and Wallace, 2014). Adults age 65 and older will make up nearly 25 percent of the U.S. population by 2060 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). As the U.S. population ages and weather events become more severe, the need to address the vulnerability and leverage the strengths of older Americans in disasters will grow.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper Public health and prevention planning and programs are needed to identify older adults at elevated risk in the event of disasters, address their needs, and leverage their strengths (Al-Rousan, Rubenstein, and Wallace, 2014). Public health departments are the government entity primarily responsible for disaster-related public health and safety. However, public health departments are often focused on the entire community, and even their tailored programs may be limited to individuals with functional limitations and may not necessarily meet the needs of all older adults. One set of resources for improving the disaster resilience of older adults may already exist in communities: current efforts to promote aging in place. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009) define aging in place as “the ability to live in one’s own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level.” A 2015 survey found that 75 percent of respondents age 60 or older intended to continue living in their current home for the remainder of their lives, in large part driven by their desire to be near family and friends (National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, National Council on Aging, and UnitedHealthcare, 2015). There are two primary types of nationwide organizations that promote aging in place in the United States (Greenfield, 2012): Age-friendly communities (AFCs) are typically collaborations or partnerships between organizations (which may include local government agencies and community groups) that promote the social connectedness of older adults across a municipal or regional area (e.g., cities and counties) and facilitate their inclusion in community life. The World Health Organization oversees the Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities. AARP oversees a network of U.S. Age-Friendly Cities.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper Villages are membership-driven grassroots nonprofit organizations that seek to help older adults age in place successfully through a number of programs and services, such as health education, social gatherings, access to a list of service vendors who have been vetted, transportation, and bookkeeping. Villages generally cover a neighborhood or a city but in some cases can cover multiple adjacent counties in more rural areas. Villages differ based on their size, governance structure, membership characteristics, and regional coverage. The Village to Village Network is a national nonprofit organization that provides expert guidance, resources, and support to help communities establish and maintain villages. Like resilience, successful aging in place emphasizes connectedness. For older adults in particular, this means engagement with community life and needed services. The following list summarizes the rationale for focusing on older adults’ preparedness and our hypothesis that aging-in-place efforts may serve as resources to public health departments to bolster the disaster resilience of older adults (Keim, 2008):Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper The U.S. population is aging rapidly, in part because of the aging baby boomer cohorts. Intense storms and other emergencies have become more frequent and severe over time, and older adults tend to live in areas more prone to disasters. The majority of older adults in the United States are unprepared for an emergency, and many are socially isolated or are not able to receive or respond to messages typically employed by public health departments. Older adults are vulnerable and have specific needs in the face of an emergency that are not fully covered by most public health departments’ preparedness activities.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper Emergency preparedness programs are designed to reduce mortality and morbidity, which will become even more critical, given the aging U.S. population.The Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA) maintains this Resource Directory as an informational service to help elders, their families, caregivers, and others interested in elder issues learn about available resources and organizations in their respective areas. The appearance of an individual or organization on this site is not intended as an endorsement of that individual or organization or any products or services identified on their external websites. DOEA disclaims any and all warranties, including accuracy, completeness, or validity of the data, and assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the information contained on this Resource Directory. DOEA does not warrant either expressly or by implication any individual, organization, product, or service appearing on this site or that is electronically linked to this site. This Resource Directory is not intended to be used as a tool for verifying the credentials, qualifications, or abilities of any professional, organization, product, or service. DOEA strongly urges all users of this Resource Directory to conduct their own research of any individual, organization, product, or service appearing on this site or that is electronically linked to this site. DOEA also recommends that users exercise independent judgment and request references when considering a resource associated with diagnosis, treatment, or the provision of any service.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper The outcome of these disasters is dependent on the healthcare system’s ability to respond and treat the injured or ill. The increased risk of a disaster occurring requires that communities nationwide have a well-prepared public health and healthcare disaster system. To mitigate the consequences of disasters, all communities need to have processes in place to treat the ill/injured and protect the healthy (Toner, 2017). A medical emergency kit can mean the difference between life and death. When emergency responders arrive on the scene, they must have fast access to the information that can help them provide swift and correct care to the senior in need.All seniors should prepare a medical emergency kit and keep it in plain sight in their main living area or kitchen for first responders to notice. Here is a list of items that belong in a senior’s medical emergency kit to ensure their medical care is precise and efficient.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper 1. A List of Medications Print out a detailed list of all current medications along with the correct dosages. This information can help medical responders better understand and track the patient’s health. They can make quick judgments as to possible causes of the emergency and narrow down the ideal treatment option swiftly. 2. Copies of Medical History Keep a current copy of your entire medical history as well. This may include updates on doctor visits, primary doctor contact information and insurance coverage details. It is also helpful for patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia to keep records of their most recent behavioral patterns to help medical professionals understand the full extent of the individual’s health history, even if they cannot personally recall the details. 3. Family Member Contact Information Always keep detailed records of your main emergency contact’s home, cell and office phone numbers as well as their home and work address. In a serious medical emergency, the treatment team will want to notify loved ones as soon as possible for guidance on making decisions regarding the individual’s health. Seniors should also keep this contact information in their purse or wallet in case an emergency occurs outside the home.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper 4. Replacement Supplies Even if you are not experiencing a medical crisis, a medical emergency kit can still help provide backup support. If possible, obtain a backup medical prescription in case your current prescription runs out and you are not able to reach the pharmacy in time. Keep batteries in the kit to replace rundown sets in hearing aids and other medical equipment. You could also keep a spare set of prescription glasses in the medical emergency kit in case your current pair is suddenly lost or broken. Contact My Senior Health Plan for assistance in ensuring your current insurance coverage meets your present needs and any other challenges that may arise in the event of a medical emergency. There are various preparedness programs already in place; however, funding for many of these programs has been drastically decreased over the years (Toner, 2017). In 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) preparedness rule was finalized and established emergency preparedness requirements for facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid and coordinates efforts with the federal, state, and local emergency preparedness systems (Toner, 2017).Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper In 2014 the Association of Public Health Nurses updated their position paper “The Role of the Public Health Nurse in Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery. This paper supplies guidance for the public health nurse’s role throughout the disaster cycle (Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN), 2014). Nurses may be allowed by federal and/or state law or declarations to cross state boards to assist in disaster relief; however, it is important that the nurse knows and understands these laws prior to joining the disaster effort. Be sure to clarify the expectations for licensure with the organization you are volunteering with. Currently, there are no comprehensive, national legal protections for healthcare workers participating in the disaster cycle (Courtney, Priest, & Roost, 2012). Public health nursing is “the practice of promoting and protecting the health of populations using knowledge from nursing, social, and public health sciences” (American Public Health Association, Public Health Nursing Section, 2013, p.1). Currently there are an estimated 34,521 public health nurses (PHN) working across the U.S. This number represents a significant, nationwide shortage of PHN.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper Public health nurses bring critical expertise to each phase of the disaster cycle: preparedness (prevention, protection, and mitigation), response and recovery. “They have a unique skill set and an ability to link systems that are vital to the disaster continuum to include, but not limited to disease surveillance, disease and health investigation, case finding, rapid needs assessment, public health triage, mass prophylaxis and treatment, collaboration, health teaching and provider education, community organizing, outreach and referral, population advocacy and policy development” (APHN, 2014, p. 6). To understand the role of the public health nurse and the nursing process during a disaster, review the APHN Position Statement at http://nacchopreparedness.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/APHN_Role-of-PHN-in-Disaster-PRR_FINALJan14.pdf. Specifically table 1 on page 7. Disaster preparedness, response, and recovery are critical components of public safety. Public health nurses who understand the population-based nature of a disaster response and possess the knowledge and skills to respond in a timely and appropriate manner to any type of disaster are a vital component to this process (APHN, 2014). Aging-in-place efforts may be a national resource to support disaster resilience of older adults.Emergency Plan For The Older Adult Essay Paper Disasters can be particularly disruptive to the daily living of older adults and their caregivers. Chronic conditions that exist prior to an emergency can be exacerbated, equipm

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