Try: Urgent situations could very well turn into emergency situations if there are gaps in the care recipient’s cr’s information that needs to be relayed to health care professionals take the time before a crisis situation develops to familiarize yourself with all of the cr’s important health and contact information assemble an emergency information packet with all of the information and provide copies to the cr and everyone else involved in his or her care listed below are several items that should be included in the emergency information packet names addresses and phone numbers of all of the cr cr’s healthcare providers including doctors clinics hospitals therapy facilities and care management professionals the cr cr’s birth date and place name and phone numbers of insurance providers policy numbers and coverage details a list of any known allergies past surgeries medical conditions joint replacements pacemaker implantation and so on a list of what medications are being taken side effects noted and allergies to any medications don’t forget to list over-the-counter medications and nutritional supplements that are taken on either a regular or as-needed basis in addition list the cr’s c-pap or b-pap machine for sleep apnea as a medication if applicable is there an advance directive in place if so a copy should be included in the emergency packet along with a note regarding who has the original copy of the directive and where is it kept any lifestyle information that may be helpful for example does the cr use alcohol or tobacco is the cr’s diet balanced and are meals eaten on a regular schedule what activities does the cr participate in what are the cr cr’s religious beliefs sometimes beliefs can influence treatment options names and phone numbers of family members friends neighbors backup care providers to be notified in case of an emergency you may need to get a release form signed by the cr that will allow doctors and others to speak with you and any others about medical care it would be helpful to have an index of the emergency packet packet’s contents on the first page all of this information should be kept together in a packet or folder that is stored in a location where it can be easily accessed in case of an emergency for example if the cr lives in an apartment the folder could be kept in a plastic sleeve under the sink in the kitchen which is right next to the front door family members and everyone else involved with the cr should be provided with a copy of the emergency information packet and notified of the location of the packet in the cr cr’s living quarters you should periodically review the information in the emergency information packet to ensure that it is current information references
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Categories: Caregiver Needs&Support, Medical Physical
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Keywords: Emergency preparedness medical emergencies
*This information is listed as a Fact Sheet and is not explicitly medically licensed