ICE Could Save Your Life

Posted Thursday, July 28, 2005

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Robert Stimpson, a police chief in Madison, Connecticut is launching a campaign that might just save your life if you're in a critical situation where you're being cared for by emergency personnel. And the campaign is catching on fast: asking cell phone users to create a specific entry in their directory called ICE, or “In Case of Emergency.”

It couldn’t be easier. Enter the number of your emergency contact into your cell phone’s address book. Label it as ICE and store it. Paramedics or doctors can then access that number if you’re in an accident.

“A program like ICE,” says Stimpson, “would make our job much easier, save a lot of time, help the emergency provider, and ultimately, help the person in need.”

Most of the 193 million cell phone users in the United States probably already have an “in case of emergency number,” but it may not be clear to emergency personnel or doctors attempting to notify someone on your behalf. Programming it again under ICE only takes moments to do.

There are some concerns with this system, especially whether or not the emergency contact is up to date about medical history.

The "ICE" idea caught on after the bombings in Great Britain, where a paramedic conceived it. Word spread, and a grass-roots movement was under way, from the Internet to hospitals worldwide to the media.

It's three simple letters that could help save lives. Why not grab your cell phone and program ICE in right now?

Source: msn.com

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