CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — You may think you have everything you need for severe weather, but experts warn that most older adults aren’t as prepared as they should be.
Older adults also have the highest rate of disaster-related deaths.
3NEWS spoke with Tom Kamber, Executive Director of Older Adults Technology Services from AARP, and asked how we’re doing when it comes to being prepared for the worst.
"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news here," Kamber said. "But we did a survey at AARP to see how older adults were handling disaster preparedness, especially related to the technology tools that are available, and the news was not great," he said.
Kamber notes that older Americans are often more socially and physically isolated than those who are younger, which means getting information to them in real time can be difficult when using apps and other technological tools.
“Older people use technology at somewhat lower rates than the younger population or have access to less of it,” says Kamber, “and so, we need to over-engineer and over-build some of these systems when it comes to older adults, because the need is greater.”
Organizations like FEMA and the American Red Cross can provide up-to-the-minute information during an emergency. But according to Kamber, once a disaster takes place, you must then be ready to manage it.
“What do you have available to you in terms of your documents being uploaded digitally so that you have things available online that you can share and access if you don't have the paper documents in front of you?”
Kamber said that having a plan in place can also be invaluable when it comes to keeping prescription medications readily at hand and ready to go.
“Older people disproportionately have more mobility and health considerations that they have to take into account,” Kamber said. “So, we need to plan ahead for what to do if you can't physically get out of the house as quickly or you need access to your medical materials there.”
According to Kamber, whether you are a caregiver or family, or both, it may be up to you to sit down with older people and create an urgency for having a plan in place. For ideas on how to do that, click here.
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