As wildfires force evacuations across San Diego, experts warn that the chaos can be especially harmful to people with Alzheimer's and other cognitive conditions.
At least five fires have forced evacuations and displaced families across San Diego County in the last week alone. KPBS health reporter Heidi de Marco says that for people with Alzheimer's or other forms of cognitive decline, the chaos of an emergency can be especially overwhelming., who runs a home health care company, knew she had to act fast. She started calling her caregivers to ensure they were ready to help those with cognitive impairments and mobility challenges.
"When the alarms go off on our phones, when the notifications come out, we all panic," Martindale said."We want to make sure we have that plan and strategy in place, especially for people with a cognitive impairment or mobility difficulty, because they're not going to move as quickly. They're going to get anxious."For many residents, the threat of fire and the sudden disruption to their lives can be overwhelming.
Experts stress that caregivers of people with cognitive impairments should have an emergency plan ready before disaster strikes. This includes knowing evacuation routes, keeping legal documents on hand, and having recent photos in case a loved one gets lost during the evacuation.of people with dementia will wander, which can lead to anything from minor injuries to costly search efforts or even death.
To better prepare, experts advised assembling a go bag with medications, medical and legal documents and familiar items to help ease the transition during an evacuation.Heidi de Marco is an award-winning photojournalist and health reporter who has focused her work on producing multimedia stories that help humanize the complex health and humanitarian issues impacting marginalized and vulnerable communities in the United States and abroad.
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