FIELD NOTE 06 / Stay safe / Before trouble
Keep the care team going
Prepare supplies, preserve care information privately, and plan how to reach trained help when everyday services are interrupted.
Your objective
Give each essential care need a practical contact, supply plan, and backup arrangement.
Gather these
- First aid kit and current instructions
- Personal medicines in labeled packaging
- Private care summary
- Provider and pharmacy contacts
- Accessibility and device information
The procedure
Prepare with the person receiving care
Privately write the person's essential needs, preferred communication, allergies, provider contacts, and agreed support. Ask what help they want. Record only what the care team needs, and decide who can access the information.
Check the kit
Keep a first aid kit where it can be found. Include personal items and emergency contacts recommended by your provider. Regularly replace used or expired supplies. A kit should support skills you have learned; owning equipment does not establish competence.
Make a medicine continuity plan
Ask your pharmacist or prescriber about lawful reserve quantities, storage, refrigeration interruptions, and where to obtain replacements. Keep their product-specific advice with the medicine. Do not share prescriptions, change doses, or assume heat-exposed medication remains effective.
Learn before the emergency
Arrange recognized first aid and CPR training with hands-on practice where appropriate. Record who is trained and when training needs renewal. Use current professional instructions for treatment; this chapter is a continuity worksheet, not a diagnosis or treatment manual.
Plan backup support
Agree how to reach trained help, how transport will work, and who can step in if the main caregiver is absent. Include assistive devices, charging needs, glasses, hearing support, menstrual care, and dependent care. Keep after-hours contacts for the provider, pharmacy, device supplier and manufacturer. Agree with the care provider what to do if essential equipment fails, and keep that plan with its instructions. Practice a respectful handover using fictional information.
Stop and get help when…
- Severe injury, life-threatening bleeding, breathing difficulty, unresponsiveness, altered consciousness, or rapidly worsening illness: seek emergency help immediately using the locally verified emergency route.
- If a medicine or device's safe use is uncertain, seek product-specific professional advice.
A small, safe practice run
Ask a trusted backup to locate the kit and provider contact without opening private medical records. Identify one missing supply or contact.
Your field worksheet
Copy these prompts onto paper. Keep personal information private.
- Essential care need / person-approved support:
- Provider / pharmacy / transport:
- Storage instructions / replacement plan:
- Caregiver / backup / private record location:
Sources and limits
Sources checked . The sources support the safety and reference facts; the worksheet and drill are Oikos planning suggestions.
- American Red Cross: Make a first aid kit
- American Red Cross: First aid training
- FDA: Safe drug use after a natural disaster
- FDA: Home healthcare medical devices checklist
- American Red Cross: First aid emergency steps
Regional examples need local adaptation. For specialized treatment, building work, waste systems, or food processing, use qualified help and complete technical references.
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