Put your cell phone on ICE
by St. John’s Lutheran Hospital
June 27, 2010
LIBBY - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that on a yearly average, over 1,500,000 emergency room patients can not physically provide contact information to emergency personnel. This is a problem with a fairly simple solution – put your cell phone on ICE.
There are over 300 million cell phone users in the United States today and some, if not most, of those users have no idea that their cell phones can be the best source of emergency contact information, even if they are not the ones using it. The simple act of identifying your emergency contacts in your phone and labeling those people as ICE (In Case of Emergency) can help emergency responders and emergency room personnel contact your loved ones if you are in an emergency situation and are incapacitated.
Lance Ercanbrack, M.D., General Surgeon at St. John’s Lutheran Hospital is an enormous advocate of the ICE program. "In very stressful times when people are injured, the ICE program makes it significantly easier to contact loved ones," stated Ercanbrack. He went on to explain that ICE has been shared with the emergency staff at St. John’s. "This discussion came up in one of our Trauma Conferences, which we use as a forum to discuss how we can better provide trauma care to the residents of Lincoln County. We were discussing a recent incident in which we were able to contact the family of an out of town emergency room trauma patient who was injured because he had ICE programmed into his cell phone. This made the job of locating emergency contacts and family members a breeze for the emergency personnel, and they were able to focus all of their attention on the patient, and give him the best possible care. We recommend that all owners of cell phones make sure that ICE is programmed into their phones."
What does putting your cell phone on ICE mean? ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. It is a world wide program that enables emergency personnel to identify injured people and contact their loved ones to obtain necessary medical information. The program was started in the mid-2000’s and encourages people to enter emergency contact information into their phonebooks on their cells under the name ICE. You can also list multiple emergency contacts by entering ICE1, ICE2, ICE3, and so on as contacts in your phone book.
How do you put your phone on ICE? You can add ICE to your cell phone in just a few easy steps. On your cellular phone, add a new contact to your phone book. Next you will enter the letters ICE, followed by the first name of the emergency contact you are entering. After that, you will enter the appropriate phone number for this emergency contact person. If you have more than one ICE contact, simply enter ICE(#), and the contact name. Each ICE name and number should be under its own contact in your cell phone.
What do my ICE contacts need to know about me?
It is important that your ICE contacts be provided with your phone list of family members, primary care physicians, and also your main work contact. They should be equipped with a list of your medical conditions such as allergies, current medications, and previous medical procedures. Make sure that you keep all of your information current and up to date with each of your contacts, and that you notify them of any changes in your medical history.
What if I lock my cell phone?
For security reasons, many cell phone users now lock their mobiles, requiring a pass code to be entered in order to use the phone. While this does hinder the emergency personnel’s ability to access ICE, many cell phone manufacturers have provided a way to specify some text to be displayed while the cell phone is locked. Contact your cell phone manufacturer to see if this is available on your phone, and to learn how to set it up.
What if I don’t have a cell phone?
If you do not own a mobile phone, there are websites available for you to print off an ICE pocket card which can be carried in your wallet or purse. The card is easily recognizable by emergency personnel, and provides a prominent place for you to put in your medical history, as well as your emergency contact and physician information. It is recommended that this card be placed directly behind your driver’s license in your wallet. One website where you can find the free ICE pocket card is www.medids.com.
What are some other helpful ICE safety tips for me and my loved ones?
• Remember, as you are adding ICE to your phone that day time phone numbers are not always effective, as many people work during the day. ICE contacts should include both day and night time phone numbers.
• While driving, clip your cell phone onto your seatbelt; in the event of an accident, your cell phone will not be thrown out of the car, or jostled around in the vehicle, making it difficult, if not impossible for emergency responders to find.
• Log on to www.icesticker.com and sign up to receive an ICE sticker. These stickers can be placed on the back of your cell phone, alerting emergency personnel to the fact that you have emergency contact information programmed in to your mobile device.
• If you have a children who do not have cell phones, log onto www.nationalemergencyid.com to find out how you can get a safe and effective national emergency identification card for your children to carry.
• Now go put your cell on ICE!
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