“What’s on YOUR fridge?”
United Way partners to produce magnetic File of Life packets that could save
your life
For Immediate Release
July 8, 2005
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“What’s on YOUR fridge?” If your refrigerator is like most, magnets keep schedules, messages, pictures, report cards, even children’s drawings posted for all who enter the kitchen to see. The United Way of Union County and the File of Life Committee hope that the addition of one more magnet to your home’s information station could save a life. |
The File of Life offers a simple, effective way to record vital medical information in a brightly colored magnetic packet that sticks to your refrigerator door. Then, in the event of a medical emergency in your home, the paramedics who respond to your situation can be made aware of important medical information conveniently and quickly before beginning treatment.
“The more knowledge EMS has, the more expeditious we can be,” said Tony Parker of the Northern Union County Fire & EMS. “It’s helping us save your life.”
| This is especially important if the patient is unable to communicate or if family members
present at the scene are too distraught to think clearly about these details because of the situation. “For instance, you come upon a patient who’s unconscious and unable to talk to you,” Parker explains. “You don’t know what’s wrong and nobody’s there to tell you anything. On the other hand, if the File of Life is hanging there, you have a medical history. Maybe they’re a diabetic. That sends off the bell in your mind—check his blood sugar, maybe this is what’s wrong. You can check it, find out, and better treat the patient.” |
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The File of Life includes information about your normal pulse rate, blood pressure, emergency contact information, medication you might be on, and advance directives such as “do not resuscitate” orders and living wills. If the form is handy and up to date, responders will not have to rummage through the medicine cabinet looking for clues about allergies or medicines the patient might be taking. It takes away any guess work and needless testing responders might have to perform to discover what’s wrong. It saves critical time, and may reduce the effects of injuries or damages sustained by the victim. It may even save the victim’s life.
Parker, who also serves as a maintenance man for the Richwood Civic Center, helped develop the File of Life concept for Union County after it was introduced at a 2002 program at the Center by Memorial Hospital’s Senior Link staff. Parker researched what works in other communities, citing Oakland, California as an example. The File of Life is a revision of the old Vial of Life concept in which medical information was kept inside a person’s refrigerator in a small tube. The new version is more visible and easily updated.
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“Keeping it updated is paramount,” said Suzanne
Patterson, Director of the Richwood Civic Center, a United Way Member
Agency. “Having it on your refrigerator is great. But every time your medication changes you have to change the
File of Life. You must take the time to write down the information on the form. All that information is vital in
an emergency.” Patterson joined the File of Life Committee established last year by The Union County Council on Aging. The committee modified the information requested on the forms to make them more effective. The Council then helped committee members to prepare the forms, to distribute them to the county’s senior citizens, and to educate them on how to properly complete and maintain it. |
Now the United Way of Union County, in conjunction with Custom Staffing Home Companion Care, Kare Medical Transport, and United Patient Care, has produced 2,000 packets for the general population.
“It’s not just for the elderly,” Parker said. “It’s for children, anyone with a medical handicap, anybody who has a medical condition.”
“It makes so much sense,” Patterson said. “And when the area responders are all trained to look in the same place for medical information, that is a really big help.”
Ideally, every Union County home would have a File of Life posted for each family member. Files could also be maintained for use in the car, the workplace, or office. To be effective, each person’s File should be updated every three months or when medication changes.
Individual File of Life packets are free and are available from the United Way of Union County. Groups or businesses that would be interested in mass producing the forms for members, employees, or customers can do so as well at minimal cost. Call the United Way office at (937) 644-8381 to request a packet