Winter blizzard and ice power outages last days. Dad's caregivers cannot drive in serious conditions. How do you manage long-distance?

Well with a dad as stubborn as that, I guess I'd just stockpile food and water for him (that doesn't have to be refrigerated if the power goes out) and have lots of warm blankets/hats he could use. Get some of those battery-operated foot/hand warmers and lots of batteries. A heating blanket (assuming he'd have power). Hope for the best. At least he's living exactly as he wants to live. You can feel good about that.

Talk all the options over with dad before winter sets in. If he's going to make it impossible to care for him I would include the option of being set adrift on an ice flow.

How about saying to dad, " you know, this winter is going to be the worst in years. I'm not getting any younger, and I hate to think that I might get killed trying to get to you during a storm. Would you do me a very great favor and spend the storm season this year at one of these als? Just until spring?" Several winters ago, I nearly got killed trying to get to mom's house during an ice storm. That was right before the tree fell on her house. I guess I'm not as nice as I'm suggesting you be. I told her to count my errand days as being over unless she moved someplace where we knew she'd be safe.

" living exactly as he wants to live "
ive seen enough out of nh in the last couple of months to convince me . no one will refuse me a day time nap so ill sleep all night , i wont piss in a diaper because theyre too busy to help me to the restroom , wont be dragged off to a lunchroom when im not hungry , wont be crammed in a shower on someone elses schedule , wont live life in a wheelchair for the convenience of staff / corporation / profit .. aps will not come up my hill . they do not have the elders best interests in mind -- they have covering their own asses in mind ..

I like vstefans attitude. He lives in a climate where power goes out. A whole-house generator would be a good investment. I like blannie's idea about stocking up on non-perishable food, too.

One fall my aunt walked to the nearby care center and said she thought she'd spend the winter there and then reconsider in the spring. Amazing woman! But it doesn't sound like that is this Dad's choice. I'd try to support Dad's choice as far as practical.

When you say that he cannot get his own meals, does that mean he couldn't spread peanut butter on crackers, or open a can of peaches? Someone can get by for a few days without regular "meals." What was the longest period of time last winter when his caregivers could not make it in? Did you call the police then? Did they check on him (perhaps using snowmobiles?)

Maybe bring dad home to your house for the winter?

Oh and an Emergency pendant if he'd ever consider one of those.

Whole house generator is expensive BUT maybe not out of reach with financing or a good DIY low interest credit card offer. Less expensive than going into care or you moving to Michigan...and actually cheaper than assisted living too.

We got one at our house for about 3K. We used some of the life insurance money we had and some we had saved. I could cope with no heat a few days, but hubby could not, and when I had to go to work it was awful. He was OK camping out in a basement library space once, or a night in an empty room my office, but our new office manager nixed that arrangement. Hotel rooms pretty much disappear early on around here, particularly the affordable ones. Once we found a place it was OK but cost a bundle. The generator will pay for itself in dollars in a few years, and in sanity it already has.

A Poem, called "Winter Driving In Arkansas":

On snow,
Go slow.
On ice,
Don't go.

-vstefans

There is an even shorter poem about SUMMER weather in Arkansas, which I did not write myself.

We have a propane fireplace and a woodstove, we can keep the entire house liveable (Not toasty) for a long time. We have sat out a 5 day power outage this way. We do have a genni for the freezers and fridges (2 each), but you can pack the food outside in cold weather. He just has to be able to manage this. I like the idea of notifying the Sunrise in an emergency

Before the "Polar Vortex" last winter, I went to my aunt's house and stayed the entire time, since her caregivers are not permitted to work in adverse weather. Thankfully the power didn't go out.

Earlier in the summer she was without power four 4 days due to a storm. Thankfully it wasn't hot that week so no fan or A/C needed. I had no power either. The caregiver brought over a coolor and bought ice. We kept water, juice and condiments in it. She took her frozen entrees home and put them in her freezer. She did her laundry. We went out to eat or ate fast food takeout. The worst for her was she had no TV during this time. The caregiver brought her magazines.