Be sure to discuss information gathered from these resources with your health care providers to see if it is relevant to your individual situation. Health and medical information accessed through these websites is not intended to substitute for or to replace the advice or instruction of a health care professional.
PlaneTree Health Library's mission is to guide the public to trustworthy, accurate, and free health and medical information. In operation since 1989, it is a free, public, patient and consumer health library and 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. It does not accept advertisements; it has no commercial relationship with the sources of information on these webpages. Visit our online information guides linked from our main website at: www.planetree-sv.org
Local Resources
On this page you will find links to local organizations and agencies that help older adults and family caregivers in Santa Clara County (or the Bay Area region in general).
If looking for a specific type of assistance, try:
Emergency Contacts
The Santa Clara County Fire Dep't. has a standardized form to quickly share important information with EMTs and other emergency personnel, in the event of an emergency:
If you prepare a LIFE file and put it in the magnetic pouch on your refrigerator or a metal file cabinet, be sure to list those details (including the location) in the emergency information on a cell phone. See the box for Don't Forget the Phone! under Planning Care and Organizational Tools for instructions how to do this.
Find Support Groups
Local support groups for family caregivers:
If the person you care for is seriously ill, also look for national organizations that advocate for people with that condition. Often the support groups connected to advocacy groups have expert advice and news about current clinical trials or research to share.
Local Support for People with Mobility Issues
Here are some local organizations that offer support groups and other resources for people with mobility disorders and their family caregivers:
Local support agencies serving the blind or those with low vision:
Find Free or Low-Cost Medical Equipment
These Bay Area organizations have loan closets or other programs that distribute new or used equipment in good working order:
For deaf or hearing-impaired people, these organizations help with lower-cost hearing aids and hearing assessment, accessible telephone communication devices, and more:
For how to recycle, donate, or properly dispose of used medical equipment, see:
The text on this page is copyright PlaneTree Health Library, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Linked contents are the responsibility of their creators or copyright holders.