MidLife Sibling Meeting Needed for Global Warming

A midlife sibling meeting needs to be convened after the catastrophic global warming nightmare of Hurricane Dora unleashed on Maui, where 1000 people were missing, many probably older residents who could not get out quickly, creating a midlife sibling nightmare.  The identified dead are all elders. Scores more victims will be identified in the weeks and months to come. While the final list of fatalities will almost surely represent a broader cross-section of ages, the deaths underscore that elderly people are at greater risk in fast-moving blazes.

Hurricane Otis struck the Pacific coast of Mexico five miles south of Acapulco on Oct. 25 at 1:25 a.m. CT as a Category 5 storm. It is the strongest storm in history to hit the Eastern Pacific Coast. Otis underwent one of the fastest and strongest rapid intensification cycles ever witnessed, transforming from a tropical storm to a Category 4 storm in under 12 hours. Otis’ strength increased from 70 mph to 160 mph and grew to 165 mph before landfall. Rapid intensification is defined as an increase of 35 mph in 24 hours.

I was in Los Angeles during Hurricane Hilary when the hurricane struck along with a 5.0 earthquake. It was the first in 84 years because the global warming nightmare of the week is the Pacific Ocean is now warm enough to produce big hurricanes. My daughter and family, who I  house sit for due to a very sick dog, took off for Maui, finding out Maui was on fire, and went to the big island after all this catastrophe in one week. I had to scramble to find flashlights, etc. and call her in Hawaii. I ended up being an example of this post.

According to the US Fire Administration, people over the age of 65 face the greatest relative risk of dying in a fire: 2.6 times higher than that of the general population. Research from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Fire Administration ties this trend among the elderly to greater frailty and difficulty escaping.

This back-to-back global warming nightmare smacks the climate change catastrophes right in our faces.  On  Dora’s and Hilary’s heels, we will have more hurricanes with hurricane season upon us, that insanely could be on both coasts, with global warming making them monster storms, with the huge elderly death toll. This should terrify adult children enough to take emergency action to protect their parents.

Midlife Family Meeting of Siblings Need Emergency Disaster Plan

This recent confluence of hurricane deaths and hurricanes looming in this global warming nightmare should be a deafening roar in the ear of midlife siblings convene a midlife sibling meeting to create a disaster plan family protecting any aging family members-, no matter where your elderly parents live or what level of care. You need that disaster plan because older people are more likely to die in catastrophes than any other population

So before another hurricane, tornado, earthquake, flood, or any disaster hits, you need to have a  midlife sibling meeting to come up with a disaster plan for aging family members.

What would be the agenda of that midlife sibling disaster family meeting?

If your loved ones are in a FACILITY- do not trust the facility to handle the situation.

Remember Hurricane Irma where above -Florida Nursing home residents are sitting in flooded water. Avoid this

Emergency Disaster Plan Have Midlife Family Meeting

1)Get a copy of the facility’s disaster and evacuation plan. Compare it to state regulations. If it does not include calling the family before the disaster, consider moving your loved one or make sure that is changed.

2)Appoint a sibling to be in charge of reading the disaster evacuation plan and be the contact person.

3)Call your state facility licensing body and find out the state regulations to see if they match the facilities- CCRC, Assisted Living, or Nursing Home

4) Have a telephonic family meeting before the disaster if possible

5) make sure the state requires backup generators for heat and air conditioning- a flaw in Florida’s regulations in Irma

If the loved one is LIVING AT HOME alone or with an adult child, have midlife family meeting.

1) Create a disaster plan for the older person. This would map out what each sibling and family member needs to do

2) Create a disaster team. This would include every adult sibling all over the country, family nearby, caregivers, and neighbors.

4) Include someone on the team who can carry heavy objects like wheelchairs.

5) Name a substitute caregiver if the regular one can’t get there.

6) Make an evacuation plan for your aging family member’s house. Where is the nearest Red Cross shelter 

7) What disaster supplies do you have on hand? Get a list from your local Red Cross 

8)Find out how many people do you need to make the move to safety or a shelter.

9) Put all of the above in writing.

10) Share a copy of your disaster plan with everyone. E-mail copies to everyone on the family disaster team, including all adult siblings, neighbors, and friends.

11) Get everyone’s agreement, especially midlife siblings and the older person. Be a unified disaster team.

12 ) Call a geriatric care manager to manage the plan or help you create it with your elderly parents if you live long distance. They can do the heavy lifting, can help moderate a family meeting- can research state laws, be there in a disaster immediately, and create and implement a disaster plan for your parent that you approve and can be part of.

Professionals, check out the chapter “ Preparing for Emergencies” in my Handbook of Geriatric Care Management  fourth edition,

Professionals Check out my book Care Managers Working With the Aging Family, Jones, and Bartlett, with its chapter on Family Meetings and the Aging Family by Rita Ghatak, director of Stanford’s Aging Program.

Get the Handbook of Geriatric Care Management with a chapter on Disaster Planning for the former president of ALCA, Liz Barlowe.