If I Need Help Tags Provide Life Saving Information For People With Autism

This week we’re honored to have a guest post from Erin Wilson, founder of the non-profit organization If I Need Help and creator of an entire line of If I Need Help wearable QR codes for people with Autism.  Here’s Erin’s story…

My son Jay who has severe Autism was lost at school before and another time at an amusement park.  Thankfully, he was quickly found.  Studies report that wandering is the only cause of death due to Autism and that roughly half of people who have Autism wander from safe places.  The majority being people who have low or nonverbal ability.  My husband and I wanted to create a way to let people who see our son if he is lost to know that he is a person who needs help and then tell them how to help him.  So we started a Non Profit named If I Need Help making personal wearable QR codes, when scanned or manually entered it links to a live profile that can be edited in real time. The code can be printed out with the free membership. Also the Emergency Q&A can be filled in at the Caregiver’s leisure and emailed to first responders during a crisis.

We offer many different ways to wear the code:  patches, pins, clips, keychains, custom iD tags for shoes or necklaces, seat belt alerts and ID cards.  Custom Temporary tats will be out soon.  This way of identification and information is now also helping people with mental illness, memory care or with physical conditions in which they may need help during critical situations. Please go to IfiNeedHelp.org to learn more.

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together! We’ll talk later…

Introducing… The ICE My Phone Kit!

Buy Paperback Edition $14.99         Buy Downloadable Edition $5

More Amazing Things You Can Do In 5 Minutes Or Less

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Smartphone

How To Download and Back Up Your Digital Photos

How To Fill Out Your Kid’s Emergency Contact Card

_________________________________________________

The Book Inspired By The Blog. The Backup Plan 3.0

The Backup Plan 3.0, is filled with quick, easy, 5 minute steps you can take right now, to get everything that’s important to you organized, safe, sound and accessible.  Each section covers a different area, from backing up and fixing family photos, home movies and music, to vital documents, medical and financial information and even getting your digital life in order.  This special Bonus Edition includes 7 downloadable Bonus Books.  Paperback Edition $24.99   Buy now at Amazon.com  Downloadable PDF Edition $8.00  Buy Now       Read more about it

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No one will ever forget the footage from Superstorm Sandy of family after family searching through the wreckage of their homes for their keepsakes, only to find their most cherished possessions completely ruined. Don’t let this tragedy happen to YOUR parents. In this book you’ll learn how to help them back up their photos, videos, vinyl albums & address books, how to record and safeguard their vital information, medical history and vital documents. $12.95 Buy now at Amazon.com Read more about it

 

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Mobile App Helps Emergency Personnel Treat Patients With Autism

Updated On 3/2/21

ICE4Autism provides person-specific, actionable information for quicker more efficient and effective treatment of individuals with ASD

The successful outcome of any interaction between a subject/casualty and first responders depends, along with other variables, on the emergency response team’s rapid access to critical details about the individual right inside their Galaxy or iPhone. This is particularly true when the person has a unique set of needs about which the first responders may be unaware – such as those associated with autism.

Emergency response personnel are tasked with responding to ALL calls, including those involving individuals with special needs. They are expected to respond not only professionally but compassionately, an expectation that implies a seemingly allusive understanding of person-specific needs and sensitivities.

AUTISM

The Centers for Disease Control describes Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as: “developmental disabilities that cause substantial impairments in social interaction and communication and the presence of unusual behaviors and interests”. Autism is a ‘spectrum disorder’ that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees meaning that no two people with autism are alike. Furthermore, the prevalence of autism is not affected by race, region, or socio-economic status.

Individuals with an ASD often suffer from additional co-morbid diagnoses which may include: allergies, asthma, epilepsy, digestive disorders, persistent viral infections, feeding disorders, sensory integration dysfunction, sleeping disorders, and more. And, in contrast to physical disabilities, in many cases without explicit knowledge or information, an onlooker will have no idea that a person has autism — and it is, therefore, often referred to as an “invisible disability”.

Since autism was first diagnosed in the U.S. its incidence has climbed from one in 10,000 to one in 68 children making it the country’s single fastest growing developmental disability. As children with autism grow up, they do not “outgrow” their autism, but rather develop, to varying degrees, an array of skills to cope with their unique communication, social and behavioral differences.

FIRST RESPONDERS AND AUTISM

Current statistics estimate that over the next 10 years half a million teens with autism will transition into adulthood. Furthermore, research has shown that individuals with autism are seven to 10 times more likely than their neurotypical peers to interact with first responders. Therefore the probability of interactions between emergency response personnel and those with autism increases with each passing day.

What does this mean in practical terms? Let us consider the following scenario:

A 9-1-1 call comes in that a young adult, 6 foot tall, 250 lb male has been involved in a vehicle vs. pedestrian accident. He is conscious but not responding to the good Samaritans’ questions.

When the first responders arrive, they start by asking the young man his name… no response. They ask him if he is in pain…No response. He becomes agitated and starts flapping his hands rapidly and repetitively.

Has the young man not heard the questions? Does he not understand English? Has the crash caused head trauma resulting in disorientation? Perhaps he is diabetic and low blood sugar is causing his confusion?

What should the first responders do? In the worst case scenario, they are left to guess, make assumptions and precede based on standard operating procedures that may, or may not, be the best course of treatment. Or, in the best case scenario, they have easy and efficient access to the information about the young man that would help them understand his needs and treat him properly.

THE ICE CONCEPT

The “ICE” — In Case of Emergency – concept is the brain-child of Bob Brotchie, a former senior paramedic and current psychotherapy counsellor. A combination of Bob’s professional experience and his own emergency incident, led to his “lightbulb” moment: a uniform method adopted by both the public and first responders for providing and accessing emergency contact information in case of emergency – ICE.  The goal was for people to enter their emergency contact(s) information into their mobile phones using the ICE preface thereby informing first responders who to contact.

In 2005, only a few months after Bob first conceived of the idea, ICE went viral. It got the attention of both the general public and of the first responder community. As time passed and mobile technology evolved, so did the use and implementation of ICE on mobile devices. The public’s reliance on smartphones, along with their becoming an essential accessory to be kept on-hand at all times, yielded an array of ICE mobile apps. This 21^st century implementation of the ICE concept broadened its capability and value: in addition to emergency contact information, many of the apps also store a variety of medical history, medications, allergy, insurance and other details that can help first responders in their assessment and treatment of injured, confused or unconscious patients.

Historically, first responders have looked for a wallet card or document in a subject’s wallet; now, with the advent of ICE apps, they have an additional potential resource on the person’s smartphone.

AUTISM, ICE4Autism AND THE EMERGENCY SITUATION

Easy and efficient access to specific information about an autistic person’s communication challenges and needs, their unique behaviors and triggers, sensitivities, allergies, medical information and their emergency contacts can dramatically improve the outcome of any emergency response interaction. ICE4Autism – the only autism-specific in case of emergency (ICE) mobile app – gives people on the spectrum and first responders a practical solution they’ve never had before. Instead of relying on efforts to directly communicate with the person – who may be unconscious, altered and/or have communication challenges – first responders can use ICE4Autism to quickly obtain the person-specific, actionable information they need to treat the individual appropriately.

Returning to our scenario, the ICE4Autism app could inform the responders that yes, in fact, the young man had heard their questions and did understand English, but that he needed a bit more time to process the questions and to respond. They might also learn that no, he does not have diabetes, but that he does have sensory integration dysfunction making the sirens and/or bright lights a contributing factor to his agitation and difficulty focusing. They may be informed that the repetitive hand flapping is a calming mechanism he implements and that they should allow him to continue unless there is a critical reason to make him stop. The app would also tell them how to contact the people who (most likely) know him best, can help with additional information, treatment decisions and, most importantly, can come to his side and provide him with the love and support that everyone needs and benefits from in an emergency.

CONCLUSION

To overcome the unique challenges presented by the increasing incidence of interactions between the first responder and autism communities, both parties benefit from the exploitation of newly-available 21^st century tools. The broad utilization of the ICE4Autism mobile app throughout the autism community will enhance first responders’ abilities to provide needs-aware and person-specific care thereby improving outcomes and quality of care.

Emergency personnel have lauded ICE4Autism for its ease-of-use, practicality and innovation. Individuals on the spectrum have expressed their appreciation for app’s elimination of generalizations and assumptions about people with autism by enabling each person to include his/her unique and specific information. And, in awarding ICE4Autism the “Best of ICE” designation, Bob Brotchie, founder of the ICE concept, described the app as: Affordable, intuitive, respectful – and most of all – of value. ICE4Autism is a game-changer for anyone who has the potential to experience difficulties communicating their needs in the emergency scenario.”

Both first responders and members of the autism community should leverage new technologies and forward-thinking solutions to improve the outcomes of their inevitable interactions with each other.  The integration of such tools will enhance the quality of care individuals with autism receive and the ability of first responders to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently.

MORE INFORMATION:

On the Web: www.ICE4Autism.com

On the App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/app/ice4autism/id969601780?mt=8

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ice4autism/

On Twitter: @ICE4Autism (https://twitter.com/ICE4Autism)

Wanda Refaely, Founder & Chief ICE Cube: 

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together!

At Your Fingertips | Make Your Smartphone Even Smarter

What if I told you, there was something you have with you right now, that can give you the support, information & ability you need to keep everyone and everything you love safe and sound, PLUS the power to gather your family in seconds no matter where they are. What is it? It’s your smartphone! At Your Fingertips is an easy to read, easy to use guide that turns your smartphone into your very own life preserver. Paperback Or Instant Download

 

Keep Everything You Love Safe | The Book Inspired By The Blog

Keep Everything You Love Safe, is filled with quick, easy, 5 minute steps you can take right now, to get everything that’s important to you organized, safe, sound and accessible. Each section covers a different area, from backing up and fixing family photos, home movies and music, to vital documents, medical and financial information and even getting your digital life in order. Paperback Or Instant Download

 

Keep The Stuff You Love Safe

How To Save Your Treasured Voice Mail Messages

How To Save Your Home Movies And Videos

How To Archive Your Digital Photos

How To Archive Your Print Photos

How To Make A Home Inventory

How To Get Your Financial Life In Order

How To Preserve Your Family History

How To Back Up Your Facebook Friends List

Turn Your Smartphone Into A Mobile Command Center

How To Backup Your Music, MP3s And Vinyl Albums

How To Access Your Money No Matter Where You Are

How To Turn Your Smartphone Into A Life Preserver

How To Turn Your Smartphone Into A Life Preserver in 1 Easy Step…

Buy Paperback Edition $14.99         Buy Downloadable Edition $5

Did you know your smartphone can save your life?  It can also save your spouse’s life, your kid’s lives and the lives of everyone you love! 

The secret is letting your phone do the talking for you in an emergency. 

How? 

By taking a couple of minutes to ICE it, with your in case of emergency contact.  And it’s even better when you add an emergency wallet card, medical information forms and a plan for tracking down & gathering every member of even the busiest of families, in five minutes flat. All of which you’ll find in the ICE My Phone Kit.  

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves…  First things first.

So, what is an ICE Contact?

During the London Bombings and Hurricane Katrina, so many people were injured and separated from their families that a London paramedic named Bob Brotchie came up with the idea of telling people to put an iCE – In Case of Emergency – contact on their cell phones.   Now, hospitals worldwide, check patient’s phones for their iCE contact, to locate their next of kin.

Why is it important to have one?

The most important reason every member of your family should have an ICE Contact on his or her phone, is because you can’t be everywhere, all the time.

There’s always one person in every family who keeps everyone else going.  The person who can recite every illness and prescription drug his or her kids, spouse and dogs have ever had.   Since you’re the one who’s reading this article, I’m going to take a wild guess — it’s probably you.

But when your family is at work, or school or at different activities all over town there’s NO way that you can be with them every second of every day.  But you CAN tuck all of that information into an ICE Contact on their cell phone, so a doctor or an emergency room can use it to take care of them, until you get there.

Every year more than one million people enter the ER unconscious or unable to give the hospital their vital information.  On average it takes hospitals over 6 hours to find a patient’s vital information, and that’s if they have the patient’s name. But when you have an ICE Contact on your cell phone and an emergency card in your wallet, you’re not only giving them all the info they need to contact the people you love, you’re also giving them all the information they need to treat you with your specific medical needs in mind. 

So What Is The ICE My Phone Kit?   

The ICE My Phone Kit is an easy to read, easy to use guide that contains everything you need to turn your smartphone into your family’s very own life preserver.  In it you’ll learn…

• How to put an ICE Contact on every major type of phone, the right way.  And it only takes a couple of minutes

• What information you need to put in your family’s ICE Contacts, so doctors can start giving them the right kind of treatment before you even get to the hospital 

• How to create ICE Contacts that work even if you password protect your phone

• Learn how to create a Family Emergency Plan and how to track down & gather every member of even the busiest of families, in five minutes flat. 

• It also contains free downloadable medical information forms, family gathering/evacuation plan and emergency wallet cards you can use for each member of the family.

• Comes with ICE Graphics you can place on your phone to make your ICE Contact stand out

• And most importantly, you’ll learn how to turn your phone into a mobile command center – or if you’d rather, your very own Bat Phone.

The Backup Plan ICE My Phone Kit, now in paperback.   Only $14.99 at Amazon.com   Downloadable PDF Edition $5.00 Buy Now   Grab your copies today.   

We also offer bulk discounts and customization for organizations, companies and schools. For large orders or customization click here to contact our sales team. 

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together! We’ll talk later…

Introducing… Connected

Introducing Connected

Purchase Connected @ Amazon.com

More Amazing Things You Can Do In 5 Minutes Or Less

How To Download and Back Up Your Digital Photos

How To Fill Out Your Kid’s Emergency Contact Card

_________________________________________________

Connected | The Book Inspired By The Blog.

What if I told you, there was one thing that you own and probably have with you right now, that can give you the support, information & ability you need to keep everyone and everything you love safe and sound, PLUS the power to gather your family in seconds no matter where they are. What is it? It’s your smartphone! Introducing Connected, an easy to read, easy to use guide that gives you everything you need to turn your smartphone into your very own life preserver. Purchase Connected @ Amazon.com

How To Turn Your Smartphone Into A Bat Phone

Updated On 3/2/21

Did you know your smartphone can save your life?  It can also save your spouse’s life, your kid’s lives and the lives of everyone you love!   The secret is letting your phone do the talking for you in an emergency.  

And not only that.  If you set it up the right way, it can also let doctors know your kid’s medical history, help you keep your important documents, photos and emergency plans at your fingertips and track down & gather every member of  the busiest of families, in five minutes flat.  

All of which you’ll learn in the ICE My Phone Kit.   But we’re getting ahead of ourselves… First things first.

Turning your smartphone into your very own Bat Phone begins with one thing.  

ICE — your in case of emergency contact.  

So, what is an ICE Contact?

Buy Paperback Edition         Buy Downloadable Edition

During the London Bombings and Hurricane Katrina, so many people were injured and separated from their families that a London paramedic named Bob Brotchie came up with the idea of telling people to put an iCE – In Case of Emergency – contact on their iPhones.   Now, hospitals worldwide, check patient’s phones for their iCE contact, to locate their next of kin.

Why is it important to have one?

The most important reason every member of your family should have an ICE Contact on his or her phone, is because you can’t be everywhere, all the time.

There’s always one person in every family who keeps everyone else going.  The person who can recite every illness and prescription drug his or her kids, spouse and dogs have ever had.   Since you’re the one who’s reading this article, I’m going to take a wild guess — it’s probably you.

But when your family is at work, or school or at different activities all over town there’s NO way that you can be with them every second of every day.  But you CAN tuck all of that information into an ICE Contact on their cell phone, so a doctor or an emergency room can use it to take care of them, until you get there.

Every year more than one million people enter the ER unconscious or unable to give the hospital their vital information.  On average it takes hospitals over 6 hours to find a patient’s vital information, and that’s if they have the patient’s name. But when you have an ICE Contact on your cell phone and an emergency card in your wallet, you’re not only giving them all the info they need to contact the people you love, you’re also giving them all the information they need to treat you with your specific medical needs in mind. 

So What Is The ICE My Phone Kit?   

The ICE My Phone Kit is an easy to read, easy to use guide that contains everything you need to turn your smartphone into your very own Bat Phone.  In it you’ll learn…

• How to put an ICE Contact on every major type of phone, the right way.  And it only takes a couple of minutes

• What information you need to put in your family’s ICE Contacts, so doctors can start giving them the right kind of treatment before you even get to the hospital 

• How to create ICE Contacts that work even if you password protect your phone

• Learn how to create a Family Emergency Plan and how to track down & gather every member of even the busiest of families, in five minutes flat. 

• It also contains free downloadable medical information forms, family gathering/evacuation plan and emergency wallet cards you can use for each member of the family.

• Comes with ICE Graphics you can place on your phone to make your ICE Contact stand out

• And most importantly, you’ll learn how to turn your phone into a mobile command center – uh, I mean Bat Phone.

The Backup Plan ICE My Phone Kit, now in Paperback at Amazon.com  or Downloadable PDF Edition  Buy Now   Grab your copies today.   

For bulk discounts and customization for organizations, companies and schools or customization click here to contact our sales team. 

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together!

At Your Fingertips | Make Your Smartphone Even Smarter

What if I told you, there was something you have with you right now, that can give you the support, information & ability you need to keep everyone and everything you love safe and sound, PLUS the power to gather your family in seconds no matter where they are. What is it? It’s your smartphone! At Your Fingertips is an easy to read, easy to use guide that turns your smartphone into your very own life preserver. Paperback Or Instant Download

Keep Everything You Love Safe | The Book Inspired By The Blog

Keep Everything You Love Safe, is filled with quick, easy, 5 minute steps you can take right now, to get everything that’s important to you organized, safe, sound and accessible. Each section covers a different area, from backing up and fixing family photos, home movies and music, to vital documents, medical and financial information and even getting your digital life in order. Paperback Or Instant Download

Keep The Stuff You Love Safe

How To Save Your Treasured Voice Mail Messages

How To Save Your Home Movies And Videos

How To Archive Your Digital Photos

How To Archive Your Print Photos

How To Make A Home Inventory

How To Get Your Financial Life In Order

How To Preserve Your Family History

How To Back Up Your Facebook Friends List

Turn Your Smartphone Into A Mobile Command Center

How To Backup Your Music, MP3s And Vinyl Albums

How To Access Your Money No Matter Where You Are

How To Turn Your Smartphone Your Very Own Mission Control Center

 

Did you know your smartphone can save your life?  It can also save your spouse’s life, your kid’s lives and the lives of everyone you love! 

The secret is letting your phone do the talking for you in an emergency.  

And not only that.  If you set it up the right way, it can also let doctors know your kid’s medical history, help you keep your important documents, photos and emergency plans at your fingertips and track down & gather every member of  the busiest of families, in five minutes flat.  

All of which you’ll learn in the ICE My Phone Kit.   But we’re getting ahead of ourselves… First things first.

Turning your smartphone into your very own Mission Control Center begins with one thing.  

ICE — your in case of emergency contact.  

So, what is an ICE Contact?

During the London Bombings and Hurricane Katrina, so many people were injured and separated from their families that a London paramedic named Bob Brotchie came up with the idea of telling people to put an iCE – In Case of Emergency – contact on their cell phones.   Now, hospitals worldwide, check patient’s phones for their iCE contact, to locate their next of kin.

Buy Paperback Edition $14.99         Buy Downloadable Edition $5

Why is it important to have one?

The most important reason every member of your family should have an ICE Contact on his or her phone, is because you can’t be everywhere, all the time.

There’s always one person in every family who keeps everyone else going.  The person who can recite every illness and prescription drug his or her kids, spouse and dogs have ever had.   Since you’re the one who’s reading this article, I’m going to take a wild guess — it’s probably you.

But when your family is at work, or school or at different activities all over town there’s NO way that you can be with them every second of every day.  But you CAN tuck all of that information into an ICE Contact on their cell phone, so a doctor or an emergency room can use it to take care of them, until you get there.

Every year more than one million people enter the ER unconscious or unable to give the hospital their vital information.  On average it takes hospitals over 6 hours to find a patient’s vital information, and that’s if they have the patient’s name. But when you have an ICE Contact on your cell phone and an emergency card in your wallet, you’re not only giving them all the info they need to contact the people you love, you’re also giving them all the information they need to treat you with your specific medical needs in mind. 

So What Is The ICE My Phone Kit?   

The ICE My Phone Kit is an easy to read, easy to use guide that contains everything you need to turn your smartphone into your very own Mission Control Center.  In it you’ll learn…

• How to put an ICE Contact on every major type of phone, the right way.  And it only takes a couple of minutes

• What information you need to put in your family’s ICE Contacts, so doctors can start giving them the right kind of treatment before you even get to the hospital 

• How to create ICE Contacts that work even if you password protect your phone

• Learn how to create a Family Emergency Plan and how to track down & gather every member of even the busiest of families, in five minutes flat. 

• It also contains free downloadable medical information forms, family gathering/evacuation plan and emergency wallet cards you can use for each member of the family.

• Comes with ICE Graphics you can place on your phone to make your ICE Contact stand out

• And most importantly, you’ll learn how to turn your phone into a mobile command center – uh, I mean Mission Control.   

The Backup Plan ICE My Phone Kit, now in paperback.   Only $14.99 at Amazon.com   Downloadable PDF Edition $5.00 Buy Now   Grab your copies today.   

We also offer bulk discounts and customization for organizations, companies and schools. For large orders or customization click here to contact our sales team. 

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together! We’ll talk later…

Keep The Stuff You Love Safe

How To Save Your Treasured Voice Mail Messages

How To Save Your Home Movies And Videos

How To Archive Your Digital Photos

How To Archive Your Print Photos

How To Make A Home Inventory

How To Get Your Financial Life In Order

How To Preserve Your Family History

How To Back Up Your Facebook Friends List

Turn Your Smartphone Into A Mobile Command Center

How To Backup Your Music, MP3s And Vinyl Albums

How To Access Your Money No Matter Where You Are

Keep The People You Love Safe

How To Keep Your Medical History At Your Fingertips

How To Create A Family Evacuation Plan

How To Fill Out Your Child’s Emergency Contact Card

How To Set Up Your ICE Contacts

How To Set Up Your ICE Contacts

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your iPhone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Samsung Galaxy Phone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Android Smartphone

How To Put An ICE Contact & Medical ID On Your Apple Watch

How To Set Up Your Medical ID & ICE Contact On The iPhone

How to put an ICE Contact on your Samsung Galaxy Lock Screen

Can I Put An ICE Contact On A Password Protected iPhone?

How To Find Your Patient’s Medical Information & ICE Contacts On An iPhone.

Cómo Colocar Un En Caso de Contacto de Emergencia En Su Teléfono Celular

Why Are ICE Contacts So Important?

Create An ICE Contact In 2 Minutes

The Two Things You should NEVER put in your ICE Contact

Don’t Carry A Wallet? Here are 20 Places To Put Your Emergency Wallet Card

How To Get Ready For…

How To Earthquake Proof Your Bedroom

How To Get Ready For A Tornado

How To Get Ready For A Tsunami

The Best Apps For Tornado Season

How To Get Ready For A Hurricane

How To Get Ready For A Wildfire

How to Get Ready For A Flood

How To Get Ready For An Earthquake

Why Are ICE Contacts So Important?

Updated On 3/1/21

If you’ve been reading our blog for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed that we talk quite a bit about ICEing your phone.

Have you ever wondered why?  It’s because everyone is always asking us how to put an ICE Contact on their phone!

They know they need one, they know they want one, but they’re not quite sure how to get it or what to put in it once they do it.

So what is an ICE Contact any way?

During the London Bombings and Hurricane Katrina, so many people were injured and separated from their families that a London paramedic named Bob Brotchie came up with the idea of telling people to put an iCE – In Case of Emergency – contact on their cell phones.   Now, hospitals worldwide, check patient’s phones for their ICE contact, to locate their next of kin.

Why is it important to have one?

The most important reason every member of your family should have an ICE Contact on his or her iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, or even flip phone, is because you can’t be everywhere, all the time.

There’s always one person in every family who keeps everyone else going.  The person who can recite every illness and prescription drug his or her kids, spouse and dogs have ever had.  Usually it’s the wife, but you never know!

But when your family is at work, or school or at different activities all over town there’s NO way that you can be with them every second of every day.  But you CAN tuck all of that information into an ICE Contact on their cell phone, so a doctor or an emergency room can use it to take care of them, until you get there.

Every year more than one million people enter the ER unconscious or unable to give the hospital their vital information.  On average it takes hospitals over 6 hours to find a patient’s vital information, and that’s if they have the patient’s name. But when you have an ICE Contact on your cell phone and an emergency card in your wallet, you’re not only giving them all the info they need to contact the people you love, you’re also giving them all the information they need to treat you with your specific medical needs in mind. 

Totally worth the five minutes it’s going to take you to set up your ICE Contact and emergency card, isn’t it?

I had the pleasure of doing an interview with Donna Miller of Blog Talk Radio’s, Your Preparation Station for her show Surviving on Shoestrings to kick off the #ICEMyPhone Campaign.  Here is the first half of that interview.

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together!

The ICE My Phone Kit

Did you know your smartphone can save your life? It can also save your spouse’s life, your kid’s lives and the lives of everyone you love! The secret is letting your phone do the talking for you in an emergency. How? With ICE, your in case of emergency contact. In “The ICE My Phone Kit” you’ll find step by step directions for ICEing, iPhones, Galaxies, regular Androids, Windows and even flip phones. Paperback Or Instant Download

At Your Fingertips | Make Your Smartphone Even Smarter

What if I told you, there was something you have with you right now, that can give you the support, information & ability you need to keep everyone and everything you love safe and sound, PLUS the power to gather your family in seconds no matter where they are. What is it? It’s your smartphone! At Your Fingertips is an easy to read, easy to use guide that turns your smartphone into your very own life preserver. Paperback Or Instant Download

How To Set Up Your ICE Contacts

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your iPhone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Samsung Galaxy Phone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Android Smartphone

How To Put An ICE Contact & Medical ID On Your Apple Watch

How To Set Up Your Medical ID & ICE Contact On The iPhone

How to put an ICE Contact on your Samsung Galaxy Lock Screen

Can I Put An ICE Contact On A Password Protected iPhone?

How To Find Your Patient’s Medical Information & ICE Contacts On An iPhone.

Cómo Colocar Un En Caso de Contacto de Emergencia En Su Teléfono Celular

Why Are ICE Contacts So Important?

Create An ICE Contact In 2 Minutes

The Two Things You should NEVER put in your ICE Contact

Don’t Carry A Wallet? Here are 20 Places To Put Your Emergency Wallet Card

Keep The People You Love Safe

How To Keep Your Medical History At Your Fingertips

How To Create A Family Evacuation Plan

How To Fill Out Your Child’s Emergency Contact Card

How To Get Ready For A Hurricane

Updated 3/8/21

Nothing is more unpredictable than a hurricane.

As Hurricane Isaac made landfall on the New Orleans coastline as a category 1 storm, residents couldn’t help remembering another storm just a few short years earlier that took the lives of at least 1,836 people and changed the lives of tens of thousands more.  

But even with a category 1 storm like Isaac, lives can change. 

Just ask the residents that didn’t think that Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Irma were going to be as big a deal as Superstorm Sandy or Hurricane Katrina and decided not to evacuate. 

People who thought that their homes would be okay, ended up having to grab whatever they could — not necessarily what they would need – and evacuate with just a few minute’s notice.

It certainly proves one thing — you just can’t count on history or predictions, to help you decide what’s right for yourself, your property or your family.

So what’s the best way to prepare for a hurricane?

It’s a good lesson for us all.  Even though you might not technically live in a disaster zone or directly in the way of an approaching hurricane or wildfire, it doesn’t hurt to have the things that are important to you, ready to go. As we tell our customers (and practice ourselves), you have to keep your vital information, documents and keepsakes backed up to at least three different locations and your emergency bin packed ready to go at a moment’s notice.  That way if you suddenly have to evacuate, those things will already be taken care of.  It’s just one more thing you won’t have to worry about doing at the last minute or doing without, later.

The best thing about a hurricane — at least as opposed to earthquakes and tornadoes — is that you usually get a few days notice that they’re coming.  Like our friends in New Orleans and Tampa, Hurricane Isaac was predicted giving some residents time to gather up their belongings and evacuate.  But of course Isaac turned the opposite direction striking areas that weren’t originally expected.  One important take-away from these disasters is the importance of staying aware and using evacuation warnings to get your own stuff together even if the homes on your particular street aren’t in immediate danger.   Heed warnings when they are given!  Stubbornly staying behind because residents think they can “handle it” has gotten thousands of people killed.  Another lesson is to always purchase flood insurance.

So how do you prepare for a hurricane? As we tell our readers, we always follow the Three Step Approach.

Step One

Make sure that you have your disaster survival gear and know how to secure your home and personal safety when a hurricane strikes.

Step Two

Make sure that you’re able to grab everything you need – necessities, keepsakes, vital information – and leave for a safer location, in less than ten minutes. It’s a lot easier than it sounds. All you need is to do is to take the necessary steps now, to ensure you have access to all the items and information that will help you get back to living your normal life, as quickly and easily as possible. You’ll also want to make sure that the things that are most vital to you — your important papers, financial and insurance information, treasured photos, videos and music and scannable keepsakes are backed up onto a portable hard drive and stored in a safe deposit box or safe, in the town where you will go during evacuation. That way it will be safe, sound and waiting for you when you arrive.

Step Three

Make sure that you have a pre-written plan of what you’ll do and where you’ll go when a disaster strikes, including a plan for how you’ll get back to your normal life, once the disaster is over.

If you live in hurricane country, you absolutely need an Evacuation Plan and a Get Back To Life Plan.  If you don’t know the evacuation routes in your area, call your local fire department for this information way before hurricane season.  And while you’re at it, make sure you also ask them where the emergency shelters are in your area in case  you suddenly need one.  You always need to know where you’re going and what you and your family would do if your area becomes uninhabitable.   If necessary make a plan with other relatives or neighbors to evacuate together and share transportation and costs.

Even if your home is safe from rising flood waters and away from the areas predicted to feel the heaviest impact of the storm, your neighborhood and city might still without power or basic city services for a few days — or a few weeks.  Just as survivors of Hurricane Isaac and Hurricane Katrina!  Telephone and/or cell service may also be down.   Not only does that mean you won’t have light, but you also won’t have power for computers or televisions and radios. Grocery and drug stores won’t be able to ring up purchases, ATMs won’t work, garage door openers might not function. Name any tool or convenience we rely on in this world and chances are it’s powered by electricity.

So if your hurricane plan is to shelter-in-place make sure that you always have an alternative source of power, battery powered flashlights, extra cash, a supply of canned or frozen food that doesn’t need to be cooked to be eaten, and the all-important supply of water – enough to last you and everyone in your family for three days. Since your home or neighborhood might have significant damage, keep rubber-soled shoes, a warm jacket and other emergency gear within reach of your bed or right inside your closet. Rubber soled shoes will protect your feet from the broken glass, turbid water and rocks that will probably be strewn everywhere.  

We aren’t going to get into the details of how to turn off your gas, when to boil water or a list of items to have on hand for a hurricane, because there are literally hundreds of sources for that information.

You should also create or update your evacuation checklist, detailing the items that you and your family would need if you were unable to live in your home for three or more days. This includes all of your necessities, prescriptions, vital documents (or access to them on portable hard drives, online or in out of area safe deposit boxes), keepsakes, personal and professional contacts, ID and basic medical history and anything else that your family will need while evacuated.

We want you to think about something.

Think about the coverage of the last few hurricanes and floods you saw on CNN.   Like Hurricane Sandy for example.  Remember the faces of the people in the midst of the storm?

They looked shell-shocked, terrified, lost. Most of those people, were at least moderately prepared for a disaster. Those in earthquake country most likely had stockpiled some food and water, those in hurricane country might even have evacuated and done everything their local news and emergency authorities told them to do. And yet, after the disaster, they were standing there, scared and helpless, because their homes, the people they loved, and basically their entire lives have been destroyed to the point that their own existence was now unrecognizable. All of those people, rich and poor, young and old — they all had one thing in common. They had NO idea where to go and what to do from here.

And THAT – knowing what to do and where to go after the disaster, is step three.  The most important step of all.

Facing a disaster without giving yourself a plan to recover from it, is like trying to build a house with no blueprint and no tools!

Having two plans can make all the difference in getting you through those first few days and weeks after a disaster strikes.

What are the plans?  They are the Family Evacuation Plan and the Get Back To Life Plan — the same plans that we’ve built into our book Ready In 10.

The evacuation plan is pretty simple. It all comes from one question… If you were at home or at work and suddenly had to evacuate your home, or your general area, where would you go?

As you think about the locations you’ll use for your evacuation, consider, the people traveling with you, how you’ll get there (car, bus, plane), any pets traveling with you and whether those locations will actually work for you – for instance are they close to stores or services your family might need, like pharmacies, clothing, banks and doctors.

We suggest that people have three different locations in mind, to give you different types of locations and choices depending on the circumstances. As you create your plan, write everything down in detail. If you have to use this plan, you and the people you love are probably going to be in panic mode and following an easy to understand plan, will help calm and focus you.

Write down the people who will be traveling with you, and any special instructions you’ll need to gather everyone together, in case a disaster or emergency occurs while you’re all away from home. Name the location that you and your family will use to meet up with each other and the location you will be evacuating to, if you cannot live in your home, but your immediate area is still safe. Include the address of the location, contact phone, email address and directions.

Location, Location

Next choose a location (writing down the details, address and contact information) that your family will use if you not only need to evacuate your home, but your immediate area or city. This might happen during a moderate hurricane or a tornado. Your third location is out of state, for a serious, widely destructive emergency like the Mexico Earthquake, Hurricane Irma or Maria, the California Wildfires, or other disaster that will make your entire region uninhabitable.

You will also include these locations on your emergency wallet card and your family’s wallet cards. Now, no matter what the disaster, even a fire or local emergency, you and your family will now know where and how to gather, and who will be responsible for what, so you can quickly reunite and travel on to your emergency location together. If you like, you can also give a card to the person you chose to be your out-of-area contact as well.

Will you have any pets traveling with you? Be sure to fill out the pet section, so that you will have all the information you need for them, like the name and numbers for the veterinarian, their licenses, and names/numbers of kennels in the location you are evacuating to and any prescriptions or special instructions you’ll need until you return home.

Your Get Back To Life Plan

The worst part of any disaster, short of losing a loved one, is the possibility that the home you love and care for and everything in it would be damaged beyond repair. That is what your Get Back To Life Plan is all about.

Imagine that you and your family have survived the hurricane, but had to leave your area because it is uninhabitable.

You’re in your evacuation location a week after the waters subside. The phone rings. It’s a good friend of yours, who has just toured your neighborhood and is calling to tell you that your home is badly damaged and he doubts that you will be able to live in it for several months, if ever again.

After you and your family hold each other for a while and talk, you finally feel strong enough to open your Backup Plan Notebook. There you find your Get Back To Life Plan and begin making calls to your insurance agent, your contractor and your boss. You call the local real estate agent in your evacuation city and ask her to begin looking for temporary housing, register your children in the local school, and begin calling the contacts you need (that you jotted down just in case), to help you settle in. Getting settled is easier than you thought, since you have copies of all of the vital documents you need, like your birth certificates and property deeds in a safe deposit box at the local bank. It takes some time, but with hard work and a lot of courage, you and your family are back to living in a matter of weeks.

Now imagine the same scenario, the same phone call, holding your family, talking and then realizing that you have no plan and no clue how to get back to living your life. It’s CNN coverage all over again. The best part of this little scenario is that it hasn’t happened to you and that you have time right now, to make sure no matter what ever occurs in your area, you and your family will be prepared.

If you don’t have a copy of our Get Back To Life Plan yet, just download it here.  

Take a few minutes to think about the following questions:

• How will we handle our bank accounts, paying our monthly bills and receiving our paychecks?   How much emergency cash do we need to have, while traveling?

• What are our credit card limits and toll free numbers for emergency increases?

• How will we work? Will we work remotely or have to look for new positions? What people or  contacts can we call about temporary or permanent jobs?

• How will we handle our medical, dental and prescription needs while in the new location? What doctors and dentists can we use while there?

• How long can we stay in our evacuation location? If we need to remain evacuated longer,  where will we go/stay? Who will our real estate contacts be, if we need to find new permanent or temporary housing?

• How are we going to secure the property or vehicles we had to leave behind?

• How will we take care of our pets, during the evacuation and until we find new permanent housing?

• How will we handle our transportation needs? What contacts will we need to purchase or lease vehicles?

• How will we handle our daycare needs? How will we handle getting our children into school if necessary? What schools or contacts will we need, to enroll them in a new school in a temporary or new location?

• How will we handle any special needs in our family?

Once you’ve answered the questions, get your family together to work out any potential problems you have uncovered and then draft your plan. And don’t forget to compile a list of real estate agents, financial contacts and jobs, schools, doctors and other professionals or information that you might need to establish yourself in the new city temporarily or permanently.

Starting over is never easy, especially when it happens because of a disaster or other life changing emergency. But taking a few hours now to think through and draft a plan, will give you and your family the direction, information and support that you need, to get through not only the first hours and days after a disaster, but the first steps back to living the life you’ve worked so hard to build.

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together!

Ready In 10 | 10 Steps. 10 Days. Ready For Almost Anything.

This cutting-edge system is designed to help you get the information you need, keepsakes you treasure and people you love, through life’s little and not so little disasters. In one piece. So you can get back to living your normal life, as quickly and painlessly as possible. Paperback Or Instant Download

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