Customize Your Family Safety Kit

American Family Safety produces many types of kits for many settings and situations. But you also need to consider the unique needs of your family, whether sheltering in place or leaving home during an emergency.

Kate Elkins is an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and 911 paramedic with Maryland Task Force 1, a FEMA urban search and rescue team. “There are certain things you need to have at hand in the moment. In a crisis, you’re not going to have time to go to the store to get what you need,” she points out.

For example:

• Prescription medications
• Assistive devices, like contact lenses and disinfecting solution, or hearing aids and batteries
• Infant and childcare supplies
• Pet medications
• If a family member has a severe allergy, include antihistamine medicine and an epinephrine injector.
• If elderly family members have fragile skin, include a roll of paper tape to protect delicate skin.
• For a family member with diabetes, include a blood sugar monitor, juice box, glucose tablets and gels, and an emergency glucagon injection kit.
• Chewable baby aspirin can help someone who has coronary artery disease (presuming they are not allergic to aspirin.)

American Family Safety kits include standard emergency supplies recommended by FEMA, the CDC, and the American Red Cross: emergency water and food, First Aid, antibacterial liquids, and so on.

To customize family safety kit, get a pen and paper and write out your family’s various needs. Walking around your kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms will help you remember who needs what.

American Family Safety customers automatically receive kit replacements just before they expire. Likewise, remove, throw away, or use and replace any other personal supplies you need before they expire. You could set a reminder on your mobile device to update the supplies in your kit, every six months or as your family’s healthcare needs change.

This article was written in June 2021, based on data available at that time.