File for life program

Sign up for the free File of Life program

Posted in: Fire & Ambulance Services, 8/21/2007 1:56 PM

Saving time in order to save lives - this is the point of Whitemarsh Township's File of Life program, which enables medics on the scene of a call to quickly obtain a brief medical history of a patient unable to offer one.

File of Life Participants complete an information card in advance of needing emergency care, and store it in a red plastic pocket that hangs in their homes in full view of arriving help. This helps to minimize risk to the patient, who in a frightened or unconscious state may not be able to mention important facts pertinent to medical care.

The card lists the patient's name, emergency medical contacts, insurance policy information, existing health problems, medications and dosages being taken, recent surgeries and a primary doctor's name. The entire pocket hangs with a magnet to the outside of a refrigerator or other metallic surface.

"We will also offer a compact version to carry in a wallet or purse, and we plan to take this program to the next step by adding the patients' names and addresses to our 911 computers," said Township Community Services Coordinator Mike Zeock [email]. Participants can notify Mike or Fire Marshall Calvin Bonenberger [email] about special-needs residents, so that responders can learn from dispatchers immediately of patient conditions from physical disabilities to oxygen support requirements. Call the Township to speak with them at (610) 825-3535.

Sandy Singrellais president of the Whitemarsh Community Ambulance Association, and was the first to sign up for the program, knowing how important it will be for arriving medics.

"This program means that when help arrives, it can be helpful right away," she said. "Precious seconds elapse while a medic is trying to ascertain a patient's condition, trying to find medications in the home to see what the person is taking - because sometimes people are barely conscious, or are very upset and can't talk, or are completely unresponsive.

"Medics can get right down to business with the File of Life," she said.