Medical Preparedness · Older Adults and Caregivers
Older Adults and Caregivers: planning for two people at once.
Four planning guides for older adults and the people who help them, from medication organization to what happens when the primary caregiver is also caught in the event.
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
The plan has to work for the person receiving care and the person giving it.
Emergency planning for an older adult is usually planning for at least two people: the person who needs support and the person who provides it. This category covers both, including what happens when the caregiver is affected by the same storm, outage, or evacuation.
Ready.gov's guidance for older adults starts with people, not supplies: create a support network of family, friends, and others who can help, and make sure at least one person has a key to your home, knows where emergency supplies are kept, and knows how to use lifesaving equipment or give medicine.1
The supplies follow. Ready.gov advises including medicines, medical supplies, batteries, and chargers in the kit, planning how assistive devices will come along during an evacuation, and copying Medicare, Medicaid, and other insurance cards.1 CDC adds batteries and portable chargers for adaptive equipment such as hearing aids.2
What these guides do not cover
- Clinical care decisions. Those stay with physicians and care teams.
- Guardianship, power of attorney, or other legal arrangements.
- Hazard planning for a household with an older adult: With Elderly at Home
- Daily caregiving and respite: Caregiver Backup, Respite, and Handoff
Where to start
Four steps, starting with people.
-
Organize the medications.
One pharmacy, synced refills, and a container that fits the regimen.
Medication Organization -
Plan for devices and mobility aids.
Batteries, chargers, and how each device travels in an evacuation.1
Older Adult Medical Planning -
If dementia is part of the picture, plan for routine.
Familiar cues, wandering prevention, and what to do if you are separated.
Dementia and Cognitive Care
Guides in this category
Four guides. One for each part of the plan.
Medical Preparedness for Older Adults
Medications, mobility, hearing aids, temperature sensitivity, caregiver backup chains, and the household medical profile.
Read the guide
Caregiver Backup Plans
Who provides care when the primary caregiver cannot, and how to write the routine down so someone else can follow it.
Read the guide
Medication Organization
Pill organizers, pharmacy consolidation, refill syncing, and making a multi-medication system hold up through a disruption.
Read the guide
Dementia and Cognitive Care During Disruptions
Preserving routine, preventing wandering, preparing for a shelter, and planning for separation.
Read the guide
Related guides elsewhere in Medical Preparedness
Common questions
Planning questions, answered plainly.
What should an older adult's emergency plan include?
Ready.gov recommends a support network of family, friends, and others who can help, with at least one person who has a key, knows where supplies are, and knows how to use lifesaving equipment or give medicine. The kit should include medicines, medical supplies, batteries, and chargers, and the plan should cover how assistive devices travel during an evacuation.1
What is a caregiver backup plan?
A written plan that names who provides care if the primary caregiver cannot, and documents the daily routine, medications, devices, and contacts so a backup can step in without guessing. The Caregiver Backup Plans guide walks through building one.
Sources
- Ready.gov (FEMA). Older Adults. https://www.ready.gov/older-adults. Accessed October 6, 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Building an Emergency Kit (Disability and Emergency Preparedness). https://www.cdc.gov/disability-emergency-preparedness/people-with-disabilities/build-a-kit.html. Accessed October 6, 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prepare Your Health: Prescriptions. https://www.cdc.gov/prepare-your-health/take-action/prescriptions.html. Accessed October 6, 2026.
Connected guides
Older Adults and Caregivers connects to the rest of your plan.
First Aid
The hands-on half: emergencies, wounds, burns, and the household kit.
With Elderly at Home
Hazard-by-hazard planning for the household.
Medical Devices and Power
Backup power for oxygen, CPAP, and mobility equipment.
Medications and Prescriptions
Supply and refill planning.
Medical Documents and Records
The folder a backup caregiver will reach for.
Disability and Access Needs
Access and functional needs during evacuation.