Safety Tips for Traveling with Children – Part 2

In the second of our two-part series on safety tips for traveling with children, we will pass along suggestions by the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) on how to be prepared for an actual visit to the Emergency Room. Hopefully your summer timeshare family vacation will be enjoyable and go off without a hitch, but knowing what to expect if you do take a detour to the hospital will help you meet the situation calmly and with confidence.
If you do have to visit the Emergency Room, the ENA offers these tips:
  1. If possible, research the Emergency Departments or walk-in clinics in the area you’ll be visiting before you go. You can get the names of the facilities from your timeshare resort concierge, and most facilities have online web sites. Those located in seasonal vacation destinations may only be open part of the year. Find out where they’re located and what their capabilities are. Some Emergency Rooms may also list estimated wait times on their web sites.

  2. “We tend to trust parents as far as their child’s vaccination history goes,” says Deena Brecher, E.R. Clinical Nurse Specialist at Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware. “But if they have any medical problems, especially complicated things, it’s always good to take a copy of their medical records with you.” If your child (or senior) has seen more than one doctor or specialist, be sure to have phone numbers for all of them.

  3. You should know about any allergies of the people you are traveling with, and be sure to bring along a list of medications and the dosages of each medication they take.

  4. If your child is with a relative or another adult, make sure they know how to reach you. Emergency Departments need consent from a parent or guardian to treat a child, so you should be accessible by phone or have gone through the proper steps to give someone else the power to make medical decisions.

  5. If your child is especially young, try to remember to grab a favorite teddy bear or doll. Having this "friend" to hug can go a long way toward calming the child, which goes a long way toward allowing the medical personnel to give optimal care in as short a time as possible.
All of these tips are also good to know for any seniors with whom you may also be traveling, especially if they have given Durable Power of Attorney or Medical Power of Attorney to someone else.

Read our previous article: Safety Tips for Traveling with Children – Part 1
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