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Medford News and Classifieds. An Interactive Online Newspaper for Medford, Oregon | ||
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| To Home Rescue Facts Provides Life-Saving Info
Having witnessed first hand
the importance of vital health information at the scene of a tragic
crash or other vehicular emergency, Central Point police officer
Brian Day and partner, former EMT John Mulry, designed a way to
allow accident victims to speak for themselves even when
unconscious. Rescue Facts is a kit that
serves in much the same way a medical bracelet communicates for a
diabetic, only better. A bright red cloth folder,
designed to wrap around a seat belt or other object, contains an
emergency card to fill out important information such as blood type,
consent to treat, existing medical conditions and regular
medications that could interfere with emergency
treatment. Day said the detailed card
provides information faster than traditional methods of digging
through glove boxes or purses, trying to contact family members or
hoping the patient "comes to." Rescue Facts came to be,
said Day, out of need. At the scene of an accident,
emergency personnel remove the victim's seatbelt before doing much
anything else. The seat belt is unfastened or cut away and a
patient's condition is assessed. "It was a mater of, the need
is there, and just trying to see how to get the important
information communicated when we need it most," Day
said. "It's always very high
stress. The accident just happened and you're trying to coordinate
blocking traffic, keeping your witnesses in the area... but first
aid is of primary importance. It all depends on the type of wreck
and level of consciousness but most times you need the information
right then and that person may not be able to give it to
you." Day, 31, said he witnessed
on a regular basis situations where emergency personnel could
provide better care with more detailed
information. "One of the last ones I was
on was a rollover where items were strewn all over the place. The
driver was almost in the passenger seat. Once again, that was the
first thing we did was take the seat belt off of her. Having that
there is an easy to read format would have been ideal. That was a
mini-van so purses don't stay in once
place." While a common practice is
to jot down emergency information to store in a glove box or fill
out a card in a wallet, Day said the scene of an accident is often
too volatile to allow such pieces of information to be searched
for. "I don't even consider going
around trying to find paperwork if the airbag is not deployed. It's
still an unstable situation. Typically if it's not right there in
front of you it's not going to get used. That was the mentality in
trying to figure out the benefit of having it right next to the
individual. Perhaps most importantly,
consent to treat forms for children or juveniles can be filled out
that will give a parent's OK when a parent is not in a condition to
allow them to do so in person. "That was one of our main
focuses," Day said. "If both parents are, for
some reason, unconscious, we would need to have that information on
a child's seat. That would also provide numbers for family members
as opposed to, worst case scenario, setting up foster care which
furthers the traumatic experience. In its first two months
available locally, Day and Mulry sold 4,000 of their Rescue Facts
information packets. While the design is tailored to wrap around a
seatbelt, it can - and has been purchased to - wrap around bike
frames, walkers, scooters and other modes of
transportation. Packets can also be attached
to overall straps or backpacks of seniors or children who could get
lost or be prone to wandering away from
supervision. While the kit provides vital
health information, it does not provide space for personal
information that could be used in the event a vehicle is stolen,
such as insurance policy numbers, social security numbers or other
such information. Rescue Facts' packet does
allow space to include: Name/Address/Phone
Date of Birth/ Sex
Height/Weight/Hair/Eyes
Primary Care Physician
Allergies/Current
medications Medical Conditions
Blood Type/ Donor Preference
Emergency Contact
Information Preferred Medical Facility
"Consent to Treat" form
...and more Rescue Facts is available at
For additional purchase
sites or for more information, contact Day at
665-2373. Contact info: Jane Sauls may be reached at javascript:mailto('jane@southernoregonnews.com','','Y'). | ||||||
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