Power outages and home medical devices: a family backup plan

If interruption threatens life, life-sustaining equipment cannot keep working, or there is a breathing or other immediate medical emergency, call 911. For other interruptions, follow the care team's device-specific urgent contact and relocation plan.

Tell the dispatcher which equipment is affected and where the person is. This guide is a planning aid, not instructions for changing treatment settings or rationing oxygen.

For each device, record its exact make and model, prescribed use, supplier’s support number, manual location and approved backup. Keep a paper copy accessible if phones or internet fail. Ask the care team what health information emergency responders should have.

• What stops when electricity fails, including separate accessories?
• What is the verified backup runtime for the prescribed setup?
• How is remaining charge checked, and who maintains batteries?
• What is the action if the backup does not start or runs low?
• At what point should transport or emergency help be arranged?

Leave unverified fields marked “ask supplier.” Do not substitute a retail battery’s advertised capacity for an answer from the equipment provider.

Print one record per device. Keep diagnoses, addresses and private contact details in the family’s secure copy. Unanswered or uncertain fields remain Unverified — follow up, not evidence that backup will work. The treating team and supplier must confirm the consequential fields; do not change prescribed settings or interrupt essential equipment to fill this in.

FDA advises checking the device instructions or contacting the manufacturer or distributor about battery or generator operation. It also recommends notifying the electric company and fire department about power-dependent equipment, and checking device settings after power returns. Do not connect wet equipment. FDA: outage precautions.

Registration with a utility is not a promise that electricity will stay on. Ask what assistance the local program actually provides. Have the supplier explain compatibility and the safe test procedure; do not unplug essential equipment to experiment.

Portable generator precautions: A fuel-burning portable generator must run outdoors only, more than 20 feet from homes and other buildings and from windows, doors and vents, with exhaust directed away. Never run it in a home, garage, basement, shed or other enclosed space, even with doors open. Use working battery-powered or battery-backup CO alarms.

Include neighbors’ buildings in placement. Distance alone does not guarantee safety. Follow manufacturer weather and electrical precautions. Never feed home wiring through a wall outlet; building connections require qualified electrical help. If a CO alarm sounds or exposure is suspected, get outside and call 911 from outside.

CDC: carbon monoxide precautions; CPSC: generator and electrical hazards.

Our planning worksheet uses four fields: destination, confirmation that it can meet the person’s needs, transport and backup contact. Ask about accessibility, equipment power and whether the destination will be open during the same emergency. A relative’s spare room may not meet those needs.

Discuss timing with the care team before severe weather. Do not assume a nearby shelter can supply specialized care or that a caregiver can move heavy equipment alone. Write down what must travel with the person and who will collect it.

Have one helper explain the plan back to the supplier or clinician: what happens first, when to escalate and whom to contact. Keep emergency numbers separate from passwords. Add a review date and revisit the plan when equipment, treatment, address or helper availability changes.

For generators, review carbon monoxide safety before any use. The CDC generator fact sheet provides safety instructions. A purchase should follow the verified plan, not become the plan.