In the throes of a medical emergency, we don’t always remember important details, such as what medications we take or even our address! There are several great options for having your medical information readily available during an emergency:

1) Emergency Information - Provide emergency responders with a list of your current medical issues, medications, wishes regarding life sustaining treatment, and contacts (especially Power of Attorney for Healthcare). It is important to check your emergency information at least annually to ensure that the information contained is current.

Whenever there’s a change in your health status, medications, legal documents, or emergency contact information, be sure to update your forms! Remember, if you have a pet, it’s also essential to have your pet’s emergency information

2) TCOMM Smart 911 - Thurston County Communications (TCOMM) encourages everyone to go to the website www.tcomm911.org to register personal health information. Once registered, the information you provide will automatically be relayed to emergency responders if you dial 911. Your information can be linked to all the phone numbers you wish (landline, cell phone, etc.).

3) Smart phone options and applications - All smart phones are capable of storing your important emergency medical information. Different brands call this option by different names (for iPhone, it’s called Medical ID). iPhone and Android have ICE options (“In Case of Emergency”) where critical info scrolls across the screen without having to use a password. There is also an app to sign up as an organ donor. Information on how to use these apps can be readily found online by googling the name of your smart phone followed by “emergency medical information”.

Marla LeFevre, RN

Director of Health Services