Summer brings with it hurricanes, wildfires, and other types of natural disasters; Emergency preparedness needs to be a priority discussion for you and your care team regardless of where you live. To help guide you in starting the conversation, we interviewed one of our Ambassadors and CRC survivor, Allison Rosen, and asked what she does to ensure she is ready for whatever mother nature throws at her next. As a Texas resident, Allison has personally experienced major flooding from hurricanes, as well as record-breaking snow storms.

Make sure you have supplies on hand

To prepare for a flood and our crazy hurricane season, I always keep extra ostomy supplies. I know that at any point a hurricane could hit us and has the potential to cause horrible flooding. This causes delay in the mail and I, like so many others, order my ostomy supplies through the mail. This has made me realize that I need to order supplies way ahead of time and have an emergency supply in case there’s a delay of days or weeks.

Actively plan with your care team before disaster strikes

My care team is always on top of helping to make sure I have an ample supply of whatever medicine I might be taking. They always take [my] safety into account and say, "safety first."

Know how to contact your care team and access their facilities once their clinic’s disaster plan has been enacted

My care center has satellite locations to help make access easier for patients. Besides direct contact with my care team, they keep us up to date on what is going on at the locations via email and text.

Confirm your plan with your personal support network, including caregivers

Communication is always key during natural disasters. A lot of things might need to be done at home that had previously been done in the clinic.

---

Natural disasters are stressful enough as it is. Having the peace of mind that comes from knowing you have an emergency preparedness plan in place will help build your confidence and readiness to respond when the unexpected happens.

Stay safe out there!