ICE your cellphones and make sure you spread the word....

ICE is a simple way to provide emergency responders with a name of a person you want contacted if you have an emergency. Everyday, thousands of emergency calls are placed. Most people today carry cell phones, so it makes sense to have this simple listing loaded in the phone book/contacts area of your cell phone. In an emergency situation, ambulance drivers, good samaritans, police and hospital staff will be able to quickly find out who your next of kin are and how to contact them. ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. It is a good idea to have your Healthcare Surrogate listed as one of your ICE contact names. This is the person who you have selected to make medical decisions for you in case you are not able to make these decisions on your own. If you are under 18, your ICE contact should be your parent or guardian who is authorized to make decisions on your behalf...for example: should you require authorization for surgery. You can have more than one ICE contact loaded into your phone--for example ICE1 KEN (could be your spouse who is also your Healthcare Surrogate), ICE2 HOLLY (could be your grown child or perhaps a trusted neighbor or friend). Make sure the person whose number you are listing has agreed to be your ICE contact. Your ICE contacts should have a list of people that you would want contacted on your behalf such as your employer or your physician, They should know about your medical condition and have a list of the medications that you are currently taking along with a list of any allergies that you might have. Enter as many telephone numbers for your ICE contact as possible such as their cell number, home number, work number. Mark your phone so that emergency responders know that it is loaded with ICE. You can do this by placing a sticker on your phone that says :ICE LOADED or by renaming the wallpaper screen to say ICE LOADED. Encourage everyone you know to add ICE to their cell phone to enhance communication to your loved ones if you are involved in an emergency situation. In the future, it is hoped that ICE becomes a universal tool--a simple step that might help save lives.