Due to Mrs. B’s cognitive and visual challenges, it very important to review the home safety checklist with her husband/caretaker, Mr. B. Mr. B also wears bifocal lenses so it is important to address home safety tips that are geared toward visual challenges. If Mr. B has stairs at home, it is important for the stairs to be contrasting colors to minimize falls. It is also important to make sure that walk ways are clear. During an earthquake, items in the home may shift around and wall items may fall if they are not bolted down properly.

It is important to walk Mr. B through the evacuation plan and care plan handout. These documents will be important to have, should Mr. B and his wife need to evacuate their home. It is also important to talk to Mr. B about the contents of the emergency go bag.

Since he has trouble remembering whether him or his wife have taken their medications for the day, it would be helpful to point out that a medicine box address this challenge. The medicine box is separated by days of the week and the one pictured on the to go bag checklist is good for four weeks.

Another important item in the to go bag checklist that would be good to talk to Mr. B about is the Fidget Blanket. Earthquakes can be startling for anyone and because Mrs. B has cognitive challenges, she may become agitated after experiencing an earthquake. The fidget blanket may help reduce her level of agitation after an earthquake.

It is also important to talk to Mr. B about general earthquake tips like protecting the head and neck when in bed and taking shelter under a table during an earthquake. For more information about earthquake preparedness, refer to the Earthquake tab of the training module.

Since Mrs. S is primarily Spanish speaking, it is important that the volunteer who is working with her is able to speak her native language. It is important that the volunteer present Spanish versions of the checklists in the emergency preparedness toolkit and ensure that Mrs. S has access to the Spanish versions as well.

It is also important that Mrs. S can receive safety alerts from Sonoma County in Spanish. See the assistive technology handout for information about accessing SoCo alerts on one’s phone and walk Mrs. S through the steps of registering. She will be able to receive information about shelter in place orders and COVID testing sites once she is registered.

Since Mr. S, has COPD, he is especially vulnerable to complications and death from COVID-19. Due to her age, Mrs. S is also vulnerable as well. It is important to talk to Mrs. S about the importance of hand hygiene and wearing a mask. Living through a pandemic is a stressful and Mrs. S may have some anxiety. It is important that she knows that she can call the council on Aging to speak to a representative about how she is feeling. Additionally, she can call the County of Sonoma Warm Line (707) 565-2652. It may also be helpful to help Mrs. S identify someone in her network that can run errands for her so that she can limit her exposure and hopefully avoid contracting COVID and transmitting it to her husband.

For more information about COVID, refer to COVID-19 Pandemic tab of the training module

Since Mrs. W, Mr. W’s wife/caretaker is at least somewhat tech saavy and is concerned about receiving alerts, it would be helpful to walk Mrs. W through the steps for receiving SoCoAlerts on her cellphone. Step by step instructions for how to subscribe to the Sonoma County(SoCo alerts) can be found on the Assistive Devices Handout that is part of the Disaster Readiness toolkit. After Mrs. W has registered to receive SoCo Alerts, she will receive information about evacuation orders, road closures, shelter in place orders, and much more.

Since Mr. W uses a front wheeled walker, you will also want to review the home safety checklist with Mrs. W. Reviewing the home safety checklist can help to identify barriers in the home environment. Removing these barriers and making adaptations can minimize fall risk in the home on a typical day and during a disaster situation. Things like uniform lighting and non-slip footwear can help to minimize falls in the home.

You will also want to review the Evacuation Plan handout with Mrs. W. This is a step by step list of everything that one needs to do to prepare for an evacuation. It is important that Mrs. W has at least 2 escape routes out of each room. You will want to talk to Mrs. W about making sure her husband’s walker is in a designated place and that she has plans for transportation should she need to evacuate her home. Additional information about fire safety information can be found under the Wildfires/Fire tab of the training module. You can also refer Mrs. W to this information and share some key points with her.

Lastly, you’ll also want to talk to Mrs. W about the items that belong in the Emergency Go-Bag. Since Mrs. W husband is showing early signs of dementia he may become agitated or confused during an evacuation. The memory book can be used to help Mr. W feel less confused and the fidget blanket may help Mr. W feel less agitated.

Narrator: Today we are going to talk about preparing for a Blackout/Power Outage

Narrator: Mr. Y is a 70 year old man living in Sonoma County. He learns that there will soon be a series of scheduled blackouts in his area. He wants to know how to best prepare for this blackout.

Narrator: You, the volunteer decide to reach out to Mr. Y to share some vital information about preparing for blackout situations. During your first conversation with Mr. Y, what do you think is most important to cover with Mr. Y?

Volunteer: Good afternoon Mr. Y, how are you doing today?

Mr. Y: I’m doing well, I suppose. I heard that there are going to be some blackouts in my area.

Volunteer: Yes, that is actually what I wanted to discuss with you today. I wanted to share some information with you about preparing for power outages. I know that blackouts can be difficult situations to deal with.

Mr. Y: Yes, they definitely are.

Volunteer: I’m speaking with you today so that you can feel more prepared for a blackout. It is important to have a plan so that you can be safe. One thing that is very important to prepare before a blackout is an emergency preparedness kit. There are several items that belong in an emergency preparedness kit.

Narrator: Mr. Y feels a bit overwhelmed by all the information and is afraid he won't remember what to do during a blackout situation. What can you do for Mr. Y to help him remember what steps to take during a blackout situation?

Mr. Y: I’m afraid I am going to have a hard time remembering what items I should have in my emergency preparedness kit.

Volunteer: That is a valid concern Mr. Y. Luckily, we have a visual checklist of all the items you will need to have in you disaster preparedness toolkit. You’ll want to make sure that you put the emergency preparedness kit in a location in your home that will be easy for you to access. Do you have any ideas about where in your home that might be?

Mr. Y: Yes, I have a few ideas.

Volunteer: Glad to hear that Mr. Y. To make the bag easier to locate you might also want to consider purchasing glow in the dark contrast tape and putting it on the bag so that it easier to locate when it’s dark.

Mr. Y: I like that idea

Volunteer: I’m glad you do Mr. Y. Glow in the dark contrast tape can also be used to label exits and other important belongings you may want to locate during a disaster. Additionally, you might want to invest in emergency lights. These work without power and will help you see where you are going so that you won’t fall.

Narrator: Mr. Y also expresses a fear of falling. He sustained a hip fracture after falling in his bathroom and this required him to undergo total hip replacement surgery. What can you as a volunteer do to address Mr. Y's fear of falling?

Mr. Y: I’m really afraid of taking another bad fall. A year ago I fell and had to get surgery for my hip. The fall happened in my bathroom as I was trying to get out of the tub.

Volunteer: I’m sorry to hear that happened to you Mr. Y. I would also like to let you know that we have a detailed home safety checklist that provides information about how to set up your home environment to minimize falls. There is a section of the checklist that is devoted to bathrooms. It offers information about grab bars and non-slip bath mats.

Mr. Y: I see. It would have been really nice to have a grab bar to reach for when I had my fall last year.

Volunteer: I’d be happy to go over the home safety checklist with you in detail so that we can make sure your home environment is safe to move around even before the blackout comes.

Mr. Y: Yes, I would appreciate that.

Volunteer: I would also like to let you know PG&E sends out alerts that you can access on your cellphone. The alerts let you know when a blackout is likely to occur.

Mr. Y: That is something I would be very interested in. I usually just rely on the information I receive in the mail and from neighbors.

Volunteer: Happy to walk you through that process as well Mr. Y.

Mr. Y: Sounds good to me

Volunteer: Now before we finish up today I just want to share some general safety tips about blackouts: you’ll want to avoid burning charcoal for heating or cooking indoors, never use your oven as a source of heat, never run a generator, avoid using kerosene. It is also important to identify someone who will be able to check in on you.

Mr. Y: I have few people in mind.

Volunteer: Glad to hear it. Now lets start by going through the home safety checklist

Mr. Y: sounds good to me

(End scene)

Narrator: For More Information on Blackout Preparedness, please refer to the Blackouts Tab of the training module, thank you.