Summer is a great time to get out and do things. Traveling out of town gives you something to look forward to and can be a very rewarding and fun experience.

Caregivers may wonder if it’s best to just stay home, but with careful planning they can still get away. It just requires being a little more prepared for the unexpected.

Consider these tips when planning a trip —

— Gather important documents: insurance cards, passports, physician’s phone numbers, medication list, a recent photo and a summary of medical records. Do not check them with luggage, in the event it doesn’t arrive, because the information is private.

— Gather medications noting if refills will be needed on any of them during the trip. Ask for refills in advance. Never travel with just enough as you may be delayed if flights or other transportation schedules change.

— Carry a list of emergency contacts. It might be worth buying a wallet on a string to hold information so the loved one can wear it.

— Purchase an identity bracelet or necklace with the person under care’s name on it. Safe Return provides excellent tracking should someone wander away. This will help even with international travel.

— Ask the person’s physician to write a letter for use with hotel or airlines should an emergency cause a sudden change in plans. Consider travel insurance in case tickets or accommodations need to be changed.

— Make up several cards with the name, address and phone number of where you plan to stay each night. Place one of these in the pocket of the person under care daily.

— Never leave the person alone in a car, restaurant booth, etc., as wandering may become a problem in a strange location.

— Carry an “OCCUPIED” sign for the bathroom door, as the process sometimes takes extra time. Caregivers may need to bring the person under care into the bathroom with them even if he or she is of the opposite sex.

— Stop every two hours when driving to take the person to a bathroom. Carry a change of clothes in a bag or the vehicle.

— Plan frequent stops when driving to stretch legs and reduce anxiety.

— When possible, bring someone along to help manage things on the trip.

— When flying, notify the attendants of the person’s dementia and plan plenty of time between connecting flights.

— Try to maintain a schedule close to what you did at home to minimize disruption.

— Leave an itinerary with family members and keep a copy with you at all times.

For more information, assistance or to sign up for Powerful Tools for Caregivers Class, contact the Aging and Disability Resource Center of Florence County at 715-528-4890, or stop by the ARDC office in the lower level of the Florence County Courthouse, 501 Lake Ave., Florence, Wis.