Are You Building Your Alert Circle? Nature Says You Should Be

Earthquake! What Elephants Teach Us About Caring for Ourselves  

It was a beautiful, Spring, blue-sky day on the Pacific coast. The vast view from my friends’ oceanfront home captured my attention while house sitting and caring for their African grey parrots. The salty breeze drifted through the open windows as I worked on an article about nature’s wisdom, specifically alert circles.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed violently with an emergency alert: “Earthquake Warning. Drop, Cover, Hold On.” As a veteran of several big quakes in California, I froze. There had been no signs—no rattle, no shake—yet the warning was real. Less than a minute later, the chandelier above me began to swing and the parrots squawked loudly as the ground gave forth a loud rumble and an unmistakable tremble. The earthquake that was centered more than 100 miles south, (just a few miles from my family’s home in San Diego County), had found its way north to my present ocean-view location.

Later that afternoon, I saw a video released by the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, located near the earthquake epicenter. The elephant herd had responded instinctively as the quake struck. The older adults first took their positions by moving in different directions on a perimeter to evaluate where the danger was located. They soon rushed together to form a connected unit—each adult facing outward, tails together—encircling the youngest in their group. It was a perfect, coordinated alert circle.

Click the video link below to watch the Elephant herd at San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park in their instinctive step-by-step response to the 5.2 magnitude earthquake centered just 15 miles away.

EARTHQUAKE! Elephant Herd Forms Alert Circle

This was nature in motion: protection through connection. It reminded me just how critical it is, especially in chaotic times, to surround ourselves with people who can help us detect danger, discover blind spots, and protect the vulnerable. And it’s a principle that applies far beyond earthquakes—especially in healthcare.

That same week, my Health Coaching client, Lynn reached out to me with frustration and rising panic. Her father had been admitted to the hospital following a severe episode of gastrointestinal bleeding. He had special needs in his health care, including daily ventilator treatments. Two days into his admission, Lynn discovered that he hadn’t received any treatments since arriving. She attempted to advocate for his needs but soon felt unseen, not heard, and stressed.

She’d asked the bedside team about it. Some staff acknowledged the order existed, but said they weren’t authorized to administer it. No further explanation was given. Her mother had called the pulmonologist but received no response. Frustrated and alarmed, Lynn called me.

As we talked, I helped her map out who was involved and where the blind spots might be. I explained how disconnected our health systems can be—primary care, ER, hospital teams often operate in silos. Her pulmonologist most likely didn’t have privileges at that hospital and couldn’t intervene. Lynn felt dismissed, frustrated, and deeply concerned. But once she understood how the system worked—and where it failed—she regained clarity and courage. I encouraged her to seek out the people who had authority to make changes in the status quo, like the floor charge nurse or the hospitalist on duty to present the full story of events and needs.

With this context, the hospitalist updated the orders, and her father received the care he had been missing. Lynn’s instincts were spot on. She couldn’t fix it all herself—but by reaching out, gathering support and accurate information, then by speaking up, she protected her father. She activated her own version of a Health Keeping alert circle.

Imagine if we taught families the skill set to build Health Keeping Alert Circles and how to recognize signs of trouble, blind spots, or denial, how to speak up and ask smart questions, while supporting one other without burnout or blame.

Several years ago, I had my first encounter with the concept of an alert circle during a twilight tram ride at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. My daughter, young grandson, and I listened as a guide explained how herd animals protect themselves on the plains. As night falls, they form spirals on knolls or higher ground—with their backs to one another, eyes and ears turned out to every direction—offering each other 360-degree protection while they slept. Moments later, we turned a corner and right in front of us was a perfect spiral of impalas, embodying this strategy of shared safety.

That experience stayed with me. As a provider in hospitals and long-term care settings, I saw human versions of these alert circles—families who intuitively worked together to protect their loved ones. I remember one young father who transformed his daughter’s hospital room into a gallery of her artwork. He knew everyone’s name, radiated warmth, and his presence shifted the whole energy of the care team.

In contrast, I saw other young patients isolated, surrounded by silent or overwhelmed companions, lost in the chaos of the system. The difference? Some had cultivated an alert circle. Others hadn’t—or couldn’t.

What my client, Lynn and that young father did—wasn’t extraordinary. It was instinctive. Unfortunately, in our current modern healthcare system, acting on instinct often requires courage, a specific skill set, and trustworthy support. Imagine if every patient had an alert circle: loved ones who could recognize danger, communicate with providers, and act swiftly.

In nature, the alert circle protects the vulnerable and ensures the survival of the group. In healthcare, it could do the same. We don’t need to wait for systems to be fixed from the top down to step up as an essential part of the solution. We can begin now to learn how to protect ourselves and find compassionate collaboration with providers in any system. We need to resist old systemic messages that invoke patient frustration and overwhelm. We can create more safety by building a new skill set for problem solving and communication in the health care realm.

Do you know who’s needed in your alert circle? And do they know how to help when it counts? Do you know how to navigate and communicate in various settings like primary care, hospital or urgent care?

It is time for change. You can begin NOW to become part of the solution.

A new and novel approach is here as a practical solution in a straightforward online course. It offers a skill set to guide you in transforming from a Frustrated or Overwhelmed Patient to an Empowered Patient. This short self-paced course includes tools, skills, and support.

Click here below for more information:

 Own Your Health: Transform Your Appointments in 6 Steps

 "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Attributed to Mahatma Ghandi

At Health Keepers United, we offer tools and coaching to help you build a resilient, empowered circle—for yourself and those you love.

Disclaimer: Any services or information provided by Health Keepers United, are provided for educational and informational purposes only, and are not substitutes for professional advice or treatment by a licensed healthcare professional.