Medical Preparedness · Disability and Access Needs
Disability and Access Needs: specific needs, specific plans.
Planning for the ways a disability, chronic condition, or temporary limitation changes what someone needs to stay safe: equipment, evacuation help, communication, and service animals.
By Dan Whelan, founder of New World Survival
Researched from government agencies, university extension services, and other published sources. See our sources
Planning guidance, not medical advice. This section helps households prepare for medical continuity during disruptions. Work with your doctor, pharmacist, and specialist for your household's specific medical needs.
What this category covers
Access and functional needs planning starts with each person's actual needs.
"Access and functional needs" describes the range of ways disabilities, chronic conditions, and temporary limitations affect what someone needs during an emergency. The planning here does not sort people into categories. It names each specific need and makes a specific plan for it.
CDC's planning guidance starts with people: make a contact list of those who support your physical, mental, or emotional health, think about how you will communicate your needs during an emergency, and list the supplies you would need for at least a week.1 It also advises planning how you will evacuate with assistive technology, or replace it if it is lost, and keeping a lightweight manual chair as a backup to a power wheelchair if possible.1
Shelters have obligations too. CDC notes that shelters must be accessible for people with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and that shelters must allow service animals by law.2 ADA.gov defines a service animal as a dog trained to perform a task directly related to a person's disability.3
What these guides do not cover
- Clinical care or therapy decisions. Those stay with your providers.
- Legal advice on disability rights. ADA.gov and your state's protection and advocacy agency handle those questions.
- Backup power for equipment in depth: Medical Devices and Power
- Hazard planning with mobility limitations: With Mobility Limitations
Where to start
Five parts of the plan, one at a time.
-
Build the support network.
A written contact list of the people who support your physical, mental, or emotional health.1 Make sure at least two of them know your evacuation plan.
Caregiver Backup Plans -
List every device and its power need.
Watts, daily hours of use, and the backup plan for each one. Note a manual backup for a power wheelchair where possible.1
Medical Devices and Power Outages -
Write down how you communicate.
CDC advises thinking through how you will communicate your needs during an emergency.1 Note backup methods and key phrases, and keep printed cards in case a device loses power.
Grab-and-Go Medical Folder -
Plan for your service animal.
CDC advises including a service animal's needs in your plan.1 Pack its food, water, medications, and vaccination records with your kit.
Medical Bag and Supplies -
Arrange transportation and ask about registries.
Contact your paratransit provider or local government ahead of time to learn who provides emergency transportation,2 and ask your county emergency management office whether it keeps a voluntary registry.
With Mobility Limitations
Guides that go deeper
Plans built around equipment, people, and routine.
Medical Devices and Power Outages
The four-step power plan for oxygen, CPAP, power wheelchairs, and other equipment.
Read the guide
When to Relocate
Deciding when to leave before backup power runs out, and where to go.
Read the guide
Caregiver Backup Plans
Who provides care when the usual helper cannot.
Read the guide
Dental, Vision, and Hearing
Hearing aids, glasses, and the records to replace them.
Read the guide
Common questions
Planning questions, answered plainly.
Do emergency shelters have to accept service animals?
Yes. CDC notes that shelters must allow service animals by law; under the ADA, service animals are limited to dogs and sometimes miniature horses.2 ADA.gov defines a service animal as a dog trained to perform a task directly related to a person's disability.3
Do shelters have to be accessible?
CDC states that shelters must be accessible for people with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act.2 Ask your local emergency management office which shelters serve your area and what accessibility features they offer.
How should I plan evacuation if I cannot drive or self-evacuate?
CDC advises contacting your local paratransit provider or local government services ahead of time to find out who provides emergency transportation in your area.2 Name at least two people who know your plan and can help.
Sources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Making an Emergency Plan (Disability and Emergency Preparedness). https://www.cdc.gov/disability-emergency-preparedness/people-with-disabilities/make-a-plan.html. Accessed October 6, 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sheltering and Evacuating (Disability and Emergency Preparedness). https://www.cdc.gov/disability-emergency-preparedness/people-with-disabilities/sheltering-and-evacuating.html. Accessed October 6, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Justice, ADA.gov. Service Animals. https://www.ada.gov/topics/service-animals/. Accessed October 6, 2026.
Connected guides
Disability and Access Needs connects to the rest of your plan.
First Aid
The hands-on half: emergencies, wounds, burns, and the household kit.
With Mobility Limitations
Hazard-by-hazard planning.
Medical Devices and Power
Backup power for equipment.
Older Adults and Caregivers
Support networks and caregiver backup.
Healthcare Access
Finding care when usual providers are closed.
Communications
Staying reachable when networks are down.