2023 National Preparedness Month Shines Spotlight on Seniors
Local SERVPRO remediation specialist says FEMA's focus on disaster preparedness for older adults is designed to "Value Their Wisdom, Celebrate Their Contributions, and Champion Their Well Being"
Jacksonville, Fla. (Grassroots Newswire) August 21, 2023 - Each year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designates September as "National Preparedness Month" 1. This year's campaign focuses on helping older adults prepare for disasters2. "Senior citizens here in the Jacksonville area may face some very specific challenges when preparing for the unexpected - challenges that go way beyond the protection of their physical property," says Peter Reilly of SERVPRO of Fernandina Beach/Jacksonville Northeast. "Seniors may be dealing with chronic conditions that require prescription medications and supplies. Or they may need assistive devices like walkers or glasses or even a service animal. That's why it's so important for them, with the help of their families and caregivers, to make an emergency plan and keep it up to date."FEMA urges seniors3 to plan for how they will:
- Communicate if they need help
- Access food, water and other essentials for themselves and their pets or service animals
- Have transportation for themselves and their assistive devices in an evacuation
In addition, FEMA urges seniors (and everyone) to create a grab-and-go emergency supply kit (https://www.ready.gov/kit) that includes the following items and more:
- Medicines and medical supplies, batteries and chargers, and water
- Copies of Medicaid, Medicare, and other insurance cards
Everyone needs a plan for the aftermath of a disaster as well, but seniors may have specialized needs. In addition to creating a support network of family and friends, seniors should make sure that:
- At least one person in their support group has a house key and knows where emergency medical supplies are stored and how to use them
- They have a back-up plan for continuing routine treatments if their usual clinic or hospital is unavailable
- They have a safe place to leave their pets or service animals if shelters are not available
"Recent extreme weather events highlight how important it is to prepare for emergencies in advance and how critical services like SERVPRO are in helping families recover from the damage that natural disasters can leave behind," says Reilly. "If disaster does strike, the specialists from SERVPRO of Fernandina Beach/Jacksonville Northeast are ready to respond at a moment's notice to remediate water, wind, and/or fire damage to your home or business. Everyone's first priority, though, needs to be the ongoing safety and security of the people who live and work in those buildings. The key is to prepare now, in advance, before the unexpected happens. Use the tools that FEMA offers or check out the free SERVPRO Ready app at https://ready.servpro.com/home/mobileapp.SERVPRO of Fernandina Beach/Jacksonville Northeast specializes in disaster restoration, cleanup, and repair services, helping to remediate damage, making it "Like it never even happened," for both commercial and residential customers. For more information on SERVPRO of Fernandina Beach/Jacksonville Northeast, please contact Peter Reilly at pamela@servpro9499.com or (904) 729-2401. For more information on SERVPRO® and the SERVPRO Emergency READY Program, please visit www.ready.servpro.com.
2 https://youtu.be/qZ2PJG97fdk
3 https://www.ready.gov/older-adults
To watch a short video - "Heroes Helping Heroes" - about SERVPRO's response to a call for help from the family a 101-year-old ex-Marine whose St. Louis home was affected by the July 2022 flooding emergency in St. Louis, click https://youtu.be/rQzeceYdXOI.
About SERVPROFor more than 50 years, SERVPRO has been a trusted leader in fire and water cleanup and restoration services, construction, mold mitigation, biohazard and pathogen remediation. SERVPRO's professional services network of more than 2,000 individually owned and operated franchises spans the United States and Canada, responding to property damage emergencies large and small - from million-square-foot commercial facilities to individual homes. When disaster strikes, homeowners, business owners and major insurance companies alike rely on SERVPRO to help make it "Like it never even happened."