Special Needs Emergency Registry

Here is a handy little tool for Elders with Needs.  This is great for us Child Free elders, whose non-children may be of non-help in an emergency.

Rhode Island has a state Special Needs Emergency Registry for people with disabilities.  Other states and communities may also have these, so check them out in any area where you intend to eld in place.  You sign up for the registry, and this puts first responders on notice of any special needs you might have, especially equipement that requires electricity such as respirators, dialysis machines, etc.

You can enroll in the Rhode Island Special Needs Emergency Registry online.  If you are unable to complete the online form, a paper form is available.  This may be inconvenient if you live in Phoenix.

Where we live, it is not uncommon to have power outages durring both winter and summer storms.  This past winter was particularly enlightening.  We own a small generator for hurricane preparedness, and have a plan for dealing with those kinds of summer storms.  But this winter caught us unprepared.  While the generator is fine for powering our refrigerator, we had no way to power our gas furnace when Winter Storm Nemo rolled into town and knocked out power to the entire island.  It started me thinking:  if I were aged and needy, and not able to operate the generator, how would I:

1. Keep my medicines cool in the fridge?
2. Preserve a little food for that nasty habit (remember habits?) I have of eating?
3. Generate a little heat without resorting to stuffing our sleeping quarters with Bed Cats (of which we only have one in stock).

So, the registry sounds like a good idea.  In theory.  But I have some questions.

Scenario 1:  Winter Storm Zydeco leaves 24 inches of snow in the street and knocks out the power.  I am lying in my (soiled) bed, my oxygen machine has stopped working, my phone is out (keep one of those old fashioned corded phones handy to plug into the socket - that power NEVER seems to go out - How do they DO that?) and my cat has frozen to death.  Will anyone look at the Special Needs Emergency Registry and think:  "The power is out, and we know that this coot needs oxygen.  Maybe someone should check on him."?

Scenario 2:  That skillet that I left on the burning stove after dinner last night has burst into flames (I eat lots of greasy foods), the flames spreading to the dried out flowers on the counter I have been meaning to throw out but just can't bear to part with because they were sent by our God Daughter after their last visit, which in turn set the cat on fire, which in turn set the rest of the house on fire, etc. etc. etc.  Does the fire crew know that there is an oxygen canister next to my (soiled) bed, having flagged my address as one included on the Special Needs Emergency Registry?  And when they pull me from the now-toasty house and see that I am no longer sentient, will they know that I have a Do Not Resuscitate Medical Directive in an envelop labeled "open me first" in my night stand?

There are a number of commercial services that can check up on you as well.  My mother-in-law has one tied to her phone line, and through speakers and microphones they can actually talk to her to make sure she is OK.  More on that later.

I have a call into the RI Department of Health, who administers the Registry, to find answers to these and other questions.  When I get a response I will post a comment to this blog entry with the answers.  Expect to hear from me in about 18 months.  In the mean time, stay away from winter storms.

Michael