Stock up on health and safety items for hurricane season

It’s what we don’t know about storm preparation that could make all the difference.

We looked at how we can protect our loved ones who are vulnerable during hurricane season.

TJ Depaola has seen a lot of hurricanes come and go. He’s the manager at Cypress Pharmacy in south Fort Myers.

“I started working at the pharmacy when I was 16,” Depaola said.

Depaola says he and his customers at Cypress Pharmacy know the drill.

“Stock up on anything that they need, routine meds, Tylenol,” Depaola said. “Pepto-Bismol for their stomachs.”

Depaola also has advice for things to stock up on at the pharmacy.

“People should really stock up on bandages, Neosporin,” Depaola said. “That type of thing.”

In Florida, you can pick up emergency 30-day refills on any of your prescriptions if your county is under a Hurricane Warning, the emergency operations center is activated, or the governor declares a state of emergency.

Lee County also has a special needs registry. Greg fisher is the coordinator for Lee Health’s emergency management. He says the program connects medically-unstable people with specialized services, sometimes even allowing them to ride out a storm in the hospital.

“If you’re on oxygen or if you have medical needs that require electricity especially, you need to make sure you’re part of the Lee County special needs registry and program,” Fish said.

Depaola knows what happens when people don’t prepare.

“You can’t really be going without electricity in oxygen when you have breathing problems, especially, you don’t want those tanks to run out,” Depaola said. “And we saw a lot of that during the last hurricane.”

Depaola never wants his community to experience that again.

MORE:

• Lee County – Special Needs Program 
• Florida Division of Emergency Management – Medication Requirements