Emergency Preparedness and Management for
Patients with Ventricular Assist Devices
Emergency preparedness applies to everyone and even more so to patients with a ventricular
assist device (VAD) that requires constant power. Your community can be impacted by several
types of hazards and you may also travel to a location with different hazards other than those at
home. Knowing what to do can make all the difference. It is recommended that you prepare a
plan for you and your family.
Hospitals, fire stations and police stations have back-up generators for times of loss in power.
Contact your local emergency facilities to discuss their commitment to allowing you to seek
shelter with them. Include the contact and location in your preparedness plan.
In an event of prolonged power outage, your VAD team may give you specific instructions on
where to go. Your options may vary depending on how widespread the power outage:
1) Relocate to family or friends home that has power
2) Relocate to your local emergency facility or community shelter that has a back-up
generator
3) Go to the hospital
If you have access to a portable generator, you may use it to power your battery charger. You
may not use it to power your pump directly with your AC adapter.
In case of a medical emergency, it is safe for you to be transported by ground or air to your VAD
hospital or nearest hospital.
If evacuation is necessary, or if you are leaving your home for an extended period of time, take
your VAD equipment and supplies with you:
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Batteries (always charge batteries after use so you have spare, fully charged batteries)
AC & DC adapter
Spare controller
Battery charger
Driveline exit site dressing supplies
VAD binder (patient manual, and other instructions provided by your VAD team)
Emergency contact numbers
Prescribed medications
Store and operate all equipment within the recommended temperature conditions.
Keep an emergency kit available at all times. In the event of a disaster, it is recommended you
have enough food and water to last 72 hours. Other items to include in an emergency kit are:
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Flashlight
Cell phone and charger
Emergency contact numbers
Water
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GL1110 Rev01 11/14
Emergency Preparedness and Management for
Patients with Ventricular Assist Devices
Keep emergency contact numbers at different locations in your home (e.g. by the phone, in your
binder/bag, on your refrigerator, at your bedside). You may want to program contact person(s)
in your phone as “in case of emergency” for easy location. It is also a good idea to keep your
medical history and medication list in your VAD binder or bag.
Make a plan for how you will communicate with your family and VAD team. You may want to
subscribe to an alert system. In addition, you may find many resources in emergency planning
at your local community services.
EMERGENCY Contact Information
If a situation arises that you are experiencing an urgent alarm or are in an emergency situation
call 911.
There is a VAD coordinator on-call 24 hours a day/7 days a week if an emergency situation
arises. You can contact a VAD coordinator by calling _________________________
In the event of an extended power outage and/or no clean water supply, the closest community
facilities with back-up resources are (fill in location and contact person):
Hospital/Emergency Room: ________________________________________
Fire Station:
____________________________________________________
Police Station: ____________________________________________________
NON-EMERGENCY Contact Information
If a non-emergency situation arises and you need to speak to the VAD Coordinator,
call _________________ during business hours.
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