Emergency Preparedness and Management of Emergency Care Situations in the Home

In short

• If a patient has an emergency, call 911, stay with the patient, and give responders the medication list and plan of care from the home folder.
• Start CPR if you are trained, unless a valid do-not-resuscitate order or other directive applies. Then call the supervising nurse or on-call nurse.
• Every patient has an individual emergency plan and a priority level. Keep the plan in the home folder and update it at recertification, resumption of care and any major change.
• Before a hurricane or other forecast event, we call patients in priority order and help Level 1 patients prepare or evacuate.
• Never travel when officials have closed roads or ordered people to shelter. Tell the office about any patient you cannot reach.
• Know your place in the call tree. Emergency preparedness training is required at least every 2 years; the Agency gives it every year.