

Please update your emergency contact information. - te_platt

This morning while out running I came across a woman who had collapsed on the sidewalk.  Another runner and I performed cpr until paramedics arrived.  We were able to contact her husband through her iPhone.  I don't know if this story has a happy ending yet but I realized I didn't have an emergency contact setup on my phone.  I probably could have dug through her contacts but because she had her first contact as "Emergency Contact" it made things just a little easier.<p>Also, you might want to take a few minutes and read up on the latest cpr techniques.  I had a few training courses about 20 years ago but the paramedics pointed out some things I could have done better - faster chest compressions than what I was taught, for example.
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woodrow
This advice won't be very helpful if your phone requires a PIN to unlock.
Consider changing your wallpaper to contain emergency information (i.e.
[http://atmac.org/put-emergency-information-on-your-iphone-
wa...](http://atmac.org/put-emergency-information-on-your-iphone-wallpaper)
for iPhone) in this case.

~~~
henrikschroder
Seriously, putting ICE info so it's always visible on your phone must be the
most _depressing_ thing you could ever do. I understand that some people have
medical conditions that puts them at risk every day, but the absolute majority
of normal, healthy people do not need this.

------
_delirium
On the last point, I hadn't noticed until I looked it up just now that a bunch
of organizations are now advocating a compressions-only approach to CPR
("CCR"), as opposed to the alternating compressions-and-ventilation approach I
was taught a long time ago, especially for non-professionals administering
CPR. One article: [http://emsresponder.com/print/Emergency--Medical-
Services/CA...](http://emsresponder.com/print/Emergency--Medical-
Services/CARDIOCEREBRAL-Resuscitation/1$7857)

------
webgambit
As a former police officer, I highly advocate having an ICE contact in your
phone. It really can make a huge difference.

That said, it doesn't do a lick of good to have an ICE contact set up if, when
the first responder picks up your phone, it asks for a password to get into
it. It's one of those cases where you need to weigh the balance on convenience
vs security.

~~~
mike463
Sounds like an golden opportunity for a software tweak.

Have the ability to configure this stuff on the lock screen.

Either text (this phone owned by bleh) or a maybe a button to dial an
emergency number.

~~~
Marticus
I can think of an iPhone immediately (cringe) and how you can make an
emergency call when the phone is locked.

Have it just display something like "Emergency contact" who you can dial
without displaying any more information on the person, not even the phone
number when it dials.

Having this person know personal information about you (blood type, etc) would
then still be relatively secure versus openly available, and the person would
have little risk of getting prank called if your phone is stolen outside of an
emergency situation.

------
dctoedt
In naming your emergency contact entry (or entries), use the prefix ICE (In
Case of Emergency); first responders supposedly look for that.

EXAMPLE: "ICE - Spouse - Jane Doe"

(See [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2005/07...](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2005/07/17/AR2005071700879.html))

EDIT: I've put some basic emergency info about myself into my ICE entry -- my
name, blood type, etc.

~~~
philwelch
Phones break, especially when you crash into them with cars (which might be
how you get hurt, too.) Medical bracelets and dog tags are somewhat more
durable.

<http://www.dogtagsonline.com/>

<http://www.americanmedical-id.com/>

~~~
dctoedt
Dogtags and bracelets aren't a bad idea at all, but a lot of people won't wear
them.

A cell-phone ICE entry can be a big help in situations not involving a violent
impact, such as heart attacks, strokes, seizures, etc.

Granting that there's no perfect solution, any inexpensive emergency-prep
measure you can take is better than nothing.

~~~
Anechoic
_Dogtags and bracelets aren't a bad idea at all, but a lot of people won't
wear them._

In fact, for some professions (woodworking, electrical work, factory work,
etc), dogtags and bracelets are prohibited.

------
astrodust
You could do something like my father, who's an avid cyclist, does and put
your emergency contact information, DOB, blood type and all that on your
helmet. I'd think this would go doubly for anyone on a motorcycle as you'll
end in an accident eventually.

~~~
SoftwareMaven
As a motorcycle rider, I'm intrigued by the (mistyped, I'm sure) phrase,
"You'll end in an accident eventually" (which, as typed, has significant
truth). Wouldn't really need much info at that point, eh?

~~~
astrodust
Oh, it's a deliberate thing. I don't know many long-time motorcycle riders
that haven't broken something at some point from a crash.

~~~
kirubakaran
I think he was referring to your choice of "end in" instead of "end up in".

------
mjmcinto
My wife and I are cyclists. There are many times when I'm out on the road by
myself, and my cell phone is either in my jersey pocket or in the bag under my
seat. If in the jersey, in a crash, it can fly out. If in the seat bag,
paramedics may not look for it. Even if they did, it gets locked after "x"
amount of time (company security policy). I do however wear a RoadID. They
have a product that you wear (several different styles), and an "interactive"
version. This version will give paramedics a number to call to get your
information...and you can list everything - name, emergency contact,
insurance, drug allergies, all of it. Since they must have your pin (which is
on the piece you are wearing), it is fairly secure, but not 100% secure (I
think we can all agree nothing is 100% secure).

<http://www.roadid.com/Common/Products.aspx>

------
nothingsTrivial
As dctoedt mentioned, creating an ICE entry is a great first step. But it is
unfortunate how few people actually take the time, and it's not a complete
solution.

If anyone is willing, I would love to get even more survey results regarding
my soon-to-launch emergency contact service (Still working on the UI/UX and
very close to the MVP). Wrt creating an ICE entry, I'm seeing less than 30% in
the survey have done so.

The survey link is <http://bit.ly/MyECInfoSurvey>

Please feel free to pass the link along to friends and family.

Cheers, Shawn

Ps, since this is HN after all, MyEC Info is a bootstrapped, single-founder
startup. If this is a topic you are passionate about please feel free to
contact me.

~~~
qeorge
Small point: I stopped taking the survey after a couple of questions, because
I'm not in your demographic. Most of the questions involved my child/partner's
emergency info, and I'm single and childless, so I ended up with No on most
questions.

Perhaps you know this and are factoring it in, but at any rate, that's why I
didn't finish the survey. It might be good to have some qualifying questions
at the top, or even a note about the demographic you'd like to respond.

~~~
nothingsTrivial
Hey George, Thanks for comment and for taking the time. This issue with the
structure of the questions has come up and I've been working on a new survey
with some qualifiers up front to direct the flow. Simply wasn't ready when the
original topic was posted and I decided to be a little opportunistic.

Although those with children are my target demographic, issues of emergency
preparedness affect everyone. Hopefully I'll be able to solve some of those
issues across all demographics.

That said, please finish the survey if you have the time. There is a question
at the end about number of children that does allow me to factor things in a
bit.

Thanks again, Shawn

------
ja27
I'm not sure about everyone else's state, but here we now have an emergency
contact list as part of your driver's license record, so it's easy to look up
even if all they have is a name.

I keep a couple small laser-printed, laminated contact info cards in or on my
running / cycling gear.

~~~
nothingsTrivial
Hey Ja27, I'm only aware of two public service initiatives to link emergency
contact information to DMV records, Ohio and Illinois.

If you don't mind my asking, what state do you live in?

Cheers, Shawn (My email address is in my profile if you prefer not to post
here...)

~~~
ja27
Colorado and Florida do it too now. I'm surprised more states don't.

<http://www.toinformfamiliesfirst.org/>

~~~
nothingsTrivial
Awesome, thanks for the link. Hopefully it will only be a matter of time
before more states setup their own programs.

------
rrc
Many years ago when I attended First Aid/CPR training from the American Red
Cross, I was told that you can actually get in serious trouble for performing
CPR without a valid license. They explained that it's quite common to break
ribs while performing chest compressions and these broken ribs can puncture a
lung. If the individual you're helping only had a very weak pulse that you
missed, you might have just made things a lot worse, perhaps even killing
them.

I was told having an active AMR license legally protects you from any such
accidents - especially since you are obliged to assist - but if you're
untrained and unlicensed you could be held responsible (manslaughter?). Is
this still the case?

~~~
hga
See this for a start: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Samaritan_law>

------
pavlov
What's the point of mentioning the make of her phone? Would you have been less
able to contact her husband using a Samsung?

~~~
te_platt
I didn't really mean anything by it. I do mobile app development and
referenced is like a car mechanic might mention the make of a car involved in
an accident. In any case, whatever your phone please take a minute and make
sure your info is up to date.

