Don’t wait until it’s too late!
Preparing for outages with medical needs
No one likes experiencing an outage, especially if it takes place in the dead of winter. While outages are inconvenient, they could turn into a much more serious situation for those members with medical needs who rely on electricity. If you or a loved one have any medical needs that rely on electricity, it’s important to take necessary steps now instead of waiting for a major weather event that could cause a prolonged outage.
When it comes to restoring power after an outage, Salt River’s restoration process is straightforward: restore power to the largest number of members at a single time as possible. So if you’re someone who lives in a hard-to-reach area that has a single outage, it might be a while until crews can get to you. That’s why it’s so important to have a plan if you or someone you know depends on power for medical needs. Below are plenty of suggestions and tips that can help you lay out a plan in the event of a prolonged outage.
The first step you need to take in laying out your plan is developing a checklist. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has an emergency power outage checklist on its website, which can be found by going to www.fda.gov/media/80782/download. This simple checklist is a great starting point in establishing a plan, as well as having a place for emergency phone numbers and medical device information.
If you’re someone who relies on a device, check with your medical professional to see if the device can run off of battery power during an outage. Most devices, like oxygen concentrators, can run on fresh batteries for a few days while crews work their way through the outages. If you don’t normally use batteries or don’t know how long they’ll last, contact your medical supplier. In addition to keeping device supplies like batteries on hand, you should also have extra medical supplies readily available, such as important medicines and extra oxygen tanks.
Lastly, if all else fails, you need to be able to move to a different location. Identify people who can get to you quickly and move you and your equipment to a location where you can use it safely. It may be for a short time until the power comes on, but having a support system in place is an important step in keeping you safe.
When winter weather hits or seasonal storms hit, Salt River Electric has a plan of action for how to respond. Do you have one for you or your loved one’s medical needs?