No, we’re not talking about the sprain you get when you slip on the ice this winter. This is a campaign to encourage people to store their “In Case of Emergency” contact information in their cell phone. Bob Brotchie, a clinical team leader with an ambulance in Britain, conceived of the idea after many failed attempts to get information from patients. We don’t need to review the obvious list of tragedies and disasters to illustrate just how useful this idea is. What is so terrific is that it is simple to remember, to do, and to use.Go to the contact list in your phonebook in your phone and enter, ICE followed by the name and number of the person who is your emergency contact. You can make more than one contact using ICE1, ICE2, etc. Use ICE Doc to list your doctor. The person (or people listed) should be reliable, easy to reach (determine what’s best—cell, landline?), and have agreed to be your contact. A super smart thing to do is to provide them (if they don’t already have it) with a list of other important contacts (work, family, etc.) and any critical health information such as a chronic condition, medication allergies, and medications. For those under 18, your ICE contact is a parent or guardian who can legally make decisions on your behalf.
If your ICE contact is deaf, type ICE TEXT followed by their name and number.
FYI: Some older phones may not show the name if your contact is a duplicate in your phonebook. With some phones you can get around this by typing a * after the number under your ICE contact.
Adapted from: ICE in Your Mobile Phone http://www.icecontact.com/products.asp?productID=8
Note from OGIU Editor: When I was managing a greenhouse workforce, many of the seasonal employees were under 20 years old. Nearly everyone of them carried a cell phone, although they weren't allowed to use them on the job. The greatest number of workforce accidents occur at the 14 to 25 age group. After reading this article, and reflecting on my past workers, I believe that it would be agreat idea to encourage them to ICE their phones. In the event of an accident, it would save a lot of time to grab their cellphone, rather than have to run to the office to find their employee file. While employee emergency contact files should never be replaced, an ICEd phone would allow you stay at the scene of the accident, and with the victim until help comes.
