Perhaps you haven’t thought about the emergency bag at the door since your last baby. In our current environment, if we have, or think we have COVID-19, we may need to leave for the hospital immediately. It’s always better to have your own things with you and to be prepared, especially now as medical resources are so thin. A fellow estate planning attorney put this list together and I wanted to share it with you all. Thank you, Attorney Peter T. Clark.
We all need to think about what would happen in a worst-case scenario.
If you have a family member sick at home and at risk of being hospitalized: have an emergency go-bag for the hospital. Visitors are not being allowed in now. Things you should have in the bag:
1. Written UPDATED accurate list of medications: name, dose, frequency. Initials after the name of medication are important too such as: XL, XR, LA, IR, ER, SR
2. Cell phone charger! Patients always have phones without battery! You can be in the emergency room for 6 to 48 hours!
3. List of emergency contacts and phone numbers on paper! If the patient is unconscious and the phone is locked or battery out.
4. Good toothbrush and hairbrush. Hospital toiletries are cheap. This isn’t the Hilton.
5. 3 pairs of underwear. Can vary depending on the condition of the patient, but if I were hospitalized in noncritical condition, I would want my own underwear.
6. Primary Care Doctor. Full name, phone number, office address.
7. Book or something to read. I have yet to find a hospital with decent Wi-Fi.
8. Copy of legal paperwork such as health care proxy, advance directive, or MOLST
9. If the patient has a pacemaker or defibrillator: a copy of the pocket information card that states the brand, model number, MRI compatibility.
10. If the patient has asthma or COPD, bring the inhalers. Hospitals are running out.
11. Extra batteries for hearing aid or other medical devices.
I WOULD ALSO SUGGEST LEAVING A COPY OF YOUR HEALTH CARE PROXY / EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION / HEALTH INSURANCE INFORMATION ATTACHED TO THE SIDE OF YOUR REFRIGERATOR WITH A MAGNET. EMT’S ARE TRAINED TO LOOK FOR EMERGENCY INFORMATION THEREIN THE EVENT THAT YOU NEED TO CONTACT 911 BUT CANNOT SPEAK.
———————–
Thank you – Peter T. Clark, Esq.
Law Offices of Peter T. Clark, P.C. – Mansfield, MA