Emergency Preparedness Checklist for Older Adults Living Alone
Beyond a medical alert device, real emergency preparedness means responders and family can get critical information and physical access quickly if something happens. This checklist covers the specific details worth having in place before an emergency, not during one.
A medical alert device is one piece of emergency preparedness — it gets help notified. The rest of this checklist is about making sure that help, once notified, can act quickly: knowing what’s wrong, reaching the right people, and getting into the home.
Medical information, ready to hand over
Emergency contacts
Home access for responders
The device itself
Why the refrigerator envelope convention works
Emergency responders are commonly trained to check for a labeled envelope or magnet on the refrigerator containing medical information — it’s a well-established, low-tech convention precisely because it doesn’t rely on a phone, an app, or anyone else being present. It’s one of the simplest, least expensive parts of this checklist and arguably one of the most useful in a genuine emergency.
This checklist works alongside a medical alert device, not instead of one
If you haven’t yet chosen a device, see our medical alert systems comparison (opens in a new tab) for how to evaluate providers on cost, contract terms, and fall detection.