Seniors can increase their ‘readiness quotient’
Posted: Thursday, June 16, 2011 10:07 pm | Updated: 6:15 pm, Thu Jun 16, 2011.
By Norma Engelberg
Pikes Peak Courier View
El Paso and Teller County are both in the South Central Colorado region and as such they share many of the same potential hazards and the similar needs for emergency preparedness.
According to the El Paso County Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan, which was required by the federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, the county is subject to the following disasters: wildfires, accidents involving hazardous materials, severe weather, disease pandemic, landslides and avalanches, earthquakes, terrorism, airplane crashes, dam breach, military accidents and drought.
The Teller County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan doesn’t list military accidents and airplane crashes but it is essentially the same list.
Almost every disaster-in-waiting on these lists could cause a shelter-in-place situation or a sudden evacuation but, according to a READYColorado survey, state residents ages 18-34 and over 65 have the lowest “readiness quotient,” meaning that many of them are nowhere near ready when it comes to emergency preparedness.
This situation is easy for seniors and their families to remedy using a new program for senior readiness from Home Instead. Called the Senior Emergency Kit, the program is an information management tool with forms that can be filled out and kept both in the senior’s home, perhaps in a magnetic Vial of Life emergency information kit kept on the refrigerator, and in the homes and wallets of caretakers and relatives.
Necessary information includes a list of the senior’s doctors, pharmacy, insurance policy numbers and medications and dosage details. The kit is available free of charge at www.senioremergencykit.com.
There is more to being ready for an emergency than just having information readily available for families and emergency workers too. It also takes planning, having a Go Bag ready in case a quick departure becomes necessary and having enough food, water and clothing handy for a 72-hour shelter-in-place situation.
Information management pages and lists of items for in-home supplies and Go Bags are also available at www.READYColorado.com.
Teller County Citizen Corps has a form for its Emergency Assistance and Response Program that tells first responders about the needs of seniors or disabled people — if they are frail, need oxygen, use a wheel chair or have a condition that requires them to get help when leaving their homes. The form is available at the sheriff’s department or online at www.tellercc.com. Click on the EARP link at the bottom of the page.
In both El Paso and Teller counties, seniors who need assistance or who would like to be better prepared for an emergency can call the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments’ Area Agency on Aging Senior Information and Assistance Center at 719-471-2096 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .