Infants and older adults

Before

• Ready.gov’s kit list for infants includes formula, bottles, diapers, wipes, and diaper-rash cream. It does not say how many diapers or ounces of formula. The calculator’s diaper count is an assumption.
• CDC: during a boil-water advisory, breastfeeding is the first option, and ready-to-use formula is the better backup because it does not need mixing water.
• Ready.gov’s older-adult page: medicines, batteries, chargers, copies of benefit and insurance cards, and a plan for how assistive devices come with you.
• Name a support person who has a key, knows where supplies are, and knows how to help with medicine or equipment (Ready.gov).
• Ready.gov summer guidance: older adults should not plan to stay alone through a power outage or extreme heat. Ask a clinician about fluids in the heat.
• If someone needs power for equipment, a ride, or help with medicine, read the special needs registry note on the Florida Division of Emergency Management plan-and-prepare page, then confirm the county’s current signup.
• The National Weather Service lists infants, young children, and older adults among people who have a harder time with heat.

During

• Keep infant feeding simple: breastfeeding, or ready-to-feed formula. Do not mix powder with water under a boil-water or do-not-drink advisory unless a clinician or the advisory says that water is safe.
• Sponge-bathe babies so they do not swallow tap water during an advisory (CDC).
• For heat, keep infants and older adults in the coolest safe room, offer fluids as their clinician recommends, and do not rely on a fan alone (Ready.gov).
• If you evacuate, bring the devices, the medicine list, and the infant supplies in the go-bag, not in a cupboard you cannot reach later.
• Check in. Ready.gov asks neighbors to look in on older adults.

After

• Restock formula, diapers, and wipes you used. Replace medicines with the pharmacist.
• If a routine treatment site was closed, use the backup the clinic gave you.
• After heat or an outage, check on older adults again the next day. Problems are not always obvious on the first afternoon.
• Update the printed medicine list if anything changed.

Checklist

• ☐Ready-to-feed formula, or a breastfeeding plan
• ☐Diapers, wipes, and rash cream
• ☐Printed medicine list and card copies
• ☐Chargers and spare batteries for devices
• ☐A support person with a key
• ☐Cooler room and fluids plan for heat

Sources

Official pages only. Open them for the full instructions.

• Ready.gov: Build a kit
• Ready.gov: Older adults
• Ready.gov: Summer ready
• Ready.gov: Extreme heat
• CDC: Drinking water advisories
• National Weather Service: Heat safety
• Florida Division of Emergency Management: Plan and prepare
• St. Johns County Emergency Management