Kids live for it…
Parents spend much of the year trying to plan for it…
It’s the perfect time of year to get out of our comfort zone and break free from the safe routine of daily life. Yet along with pushing those boundaries and living the adventure comes the increased possibility of accident or injury - those unexpected events we spend the least amount of time planning for and years recovering from when they happen.
While we can’t control everything, there are steps we can take as families to handle whatever comes our way and minimize the damage as much as possible.
First, if your children are traveling without you, make sure that at least one of the adults chaperoning them has an advanced medical directive in their possession that gives them permission to make life saving medical decisions for your child, if you’re not there. When the worst happens, every second counts and having this documentation at the ready can literally make the difference between life and death.
Second, make sure that along with passports, identification and contact information, each person in your family has documentation listing all shot records, allergies, any medications they take and any other important medical history that could make a difference in how a medical emergency is handled. This goes for adults AND children. Adults on vacation are not exempt from injury any more than children.
Third, each adult in the family needs a Durable Power of Attorney for legal and financial issues and an Advanced Health Care Directive for health care issues. Each adult should also carry the name and address of the attorney who prepared both of these documents in their wallet. Make sure your attorney retains a copy of these documents in your file and they can be retrieved quickly in the event of an emergency.
If you’re thinking this sounds like overkill, just imagine what would happen if you were on vacation, hundreds if not thousands of miles away from home, and you were involved in a serious car accident. Who would take over making decisions for you? Paying bills that need to be paid, keeping your family finances in order? It happens all the time. This one document can make the difference between going back home to a normal life or returning to a financial disaster that could take years to fix.
No one likes to think of the worst when planning their summer vacation but it’s amazing how much peace of mind taking these three little steps will buy you. Make them as much a part of your summer plans as airline tickets and hotel reservations and you can leave home with little more to worry about than getting to the airport on time.
Drafting a Durable Power of Attorney and Advance Health Care Directive should be taken care of as part of your comprehensive estate plan and, of course, I recommend you work with a lawyer to take care that. While you’re at it, make sure you have a Will, Trust (if you own any assets that would go through probate) and a Kids Protection Plan prepared as well. If you have already had these documents prepared, fantastic – this would be a great time of year to make sure they are all up to date.
If you haven’t had these important documents prepared for your family (or you have and they’re out of date), call us to schedule your Family Wealth Planning Session today so we can identify what would happen for your family if anything were to happen to you.
Have fun hope to see you soon. OOhh and short article about keep food safe. My mom and husband had an incident at a couple of different fast foods or BBQ’s we are not too sure. But just in case we have read up on how to keep food safe. Especially with all the cook outs going on.
Summer Food Safety – Watch Out!
Keep your children away from grills or outdoor cooking fires at all times. Barbecue tools should be off limits, too. Summer wouldn't be complete without picnics and barbecues. But be careful: Federal government studies show that cases of food-borne illness rise in summer for two reasons. First, bacteria grow faster in the warm summer months, especially when humidity is high. Second, more people are cooking and eating outdoors where refrigerators and sinks aren't available.
Most adults have healthy immune systems that protect them from getting sick from contaminated food. Young children are more vulnerable to food-borne bacteria, because of their immature immune systems.
There are some simple steps to keep your food safe in summer. The most important safety measure is washing your hands with hot, soapy water before handling food and after using the bathroom, changing diapers, or handling pets. If you're eating away from home, use disposable wipes or antibacterial gels and dry your hands with paper towels.
Gadget Guide
“Instant read” thermometers are designed to be inserted in fast-cooking foods such as hamburgers to test for doneness. These are not the same as meat and poultry thermometers that stay in the food throughout the cooking process.
Prevent Cross-Contamination
Cross-contamination during preparation, grilling, and serving food is another prime cause of food-borne illness.
When you pack your cooler, wrap raw meats or poultry securely so the juices won't come in contact with other foods. Wash plates, utensils, and cutting boards that held raw meat or fish before using them again.
Don't Undercook
Foods should be heated long enough and at a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria. Meat and poultry cooked on a grill often brown fast on the outside but may be undercooked inside. Check them with a thermometer.
Cook meat and poultry completely at the picnic site. Partial cooking of foods ahead of time allows bacteria to survive and multiply to the point that subsequent cooking can't destroy them.
Here are the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) recommended temperatures for some meats, expressed in degrees Fahrenheit:
Cook hamburger and other ground meats to an internal temperature of 160°F and ground poultry to 165°F. You cannot determine if the meat is safe simply by the color.
Cook steaks and roasts that have been tenderized, boned, rolled, etc., to 160°F for well-done. Whole steaks and roasts may be cooked to 145°F for medium rare.
Whole poultry should be cooked to 180°F. Breast meat should be cooked to 170°F.
Safety Savvy
For additional food safety information, call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 800-535-4555. It is staffed by home economists, registered dietitians, and food technologists weekdays year round from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. Eastern time. An extensive selection of food safety recordings can be heard 24 hours a day using a touch-tone phone. Or visit the Web site www.USDA.gov for more information.
Refrigerate Promptly
Luncheon meats, cooked meats, chicken, fish, potato or pasta salads, and other perishables should be kept in an insulated cooler with several inches of ice or ice packs. Replenish the ice when it starts to melt. Don't put food out until your family is ready to eat it.
Try to pack beverages in one cooler and perishable foods in another cooler, because the beverage cooler probably will be opened frequently. If possible, keep the cooler on the seat of the car instead of in the hot trunk, and put it in the shade when you unpack the car.
Handling Leftovers
Stow leftovers back in the cooler as soon as you finish eating. Food left out of refrigeration for more than two hours may not be safe to eat. At 90°F or above, food left out over one hour can spoil. If in doubt, throw it out!
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