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Having been a caregiver for my stroke survivor husband for the past seven years, and having share-cared for my dementia inflicted father the five years before my husband's stroke, I've learned a lot about the need to write an Emergency Care Plan.

Family caregivers occasionally get sick or have other set backs that can put their care recipient in a dangerous position if an Emergency Care Plan is not already set in place. Unfortunately, I know from being a mentor on a stroke support website that most caregivers don't have an Emergency Care Plan and that is a potentially life-threatening mistake.

What should be in your plan? An Emergency Care Plan should include all essential information another person needs to know to take over in your absence, be it a few days or longer. When you write your first plan, take your time and be as detailed as you can. Updating the plan periodically after that will only take a few minutes.

The seven essential pages to include in an Emergency Care Plan are:

1. Medical Emergency Contact Information
When you create your own Emergency Care Plan be sure your medical contact page includes the names, addresses and phone numbers of all the doctors your care recipient sees to manage their condition. List all contact information for medical insurance companies. Also include the dentist, hearing center, eye doctor and other medical services you may use for lesser emergencies that could come up in your absence. In addition include your hospital, pharmacy, wheelchair repair service (if applicable), and the contact information for the person who holds the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and the contact information for the successor should the primary patient advocate is not able to act.