For those who rely on electrical medical equipment, North Arkansas Electric Cooperative (NAEC) has shared tips on how to prepare a backup plan in case severe weather, such as freezing rain, causes outages.
NAEC personnel work to restore power as quickly and safely as possible after an outage, but encourage members to be prepared in the event widespread damage leads to an extended outage.
Backup safety tips include:
Have an emergency plan in place with friends and family that outlines places you can go in the event of a long-term outage;
Find out if the medical equipment safely runs on a backup power source and for how long before an outage occurs. (See manufacturers recommendations.);
Keep a full charge on battery-powered devices or have extra batteries available;
Consider purchasing a portable battery pack to power devices if recommended by the manufacturer;
Gather related resources that will last for two weeks, including batteries, supplemental equipment and prescriptions;
Realize shelters and hospitals that are also experiencing an outage may be at capacity and have limited resources, including auxiliary power;
Think about the other special equipment you might need, such as coolers for refrigerated medicine;
Keep up regular maintenance on any medical devices; and
Have a file that includes the device’s manufacturer, serial numbers and photos of the device.
Learn more about preparing for an emergency at safeelectricity.org.
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