What Would EMTs and ER Staff Need to Know?

I recently created the Refrigerator Emergency Kit after a serious medication error during an emergency room visit almost cost my dad his life.

As a pharmacist, I know how complicated medical decisions can become when the full picture is not clear. Medication lists, allergies, medical conditions, emergency contacts, healthcare proxy information, and key documents all matter. When that information is scattered, outdated, unavailable, or hard to access, everyone can be left scrambling. EMTs. Healthcare providers. Hospital staff. Family members.

But as much as I know, my dad was not prepared ... and his caregivers scrambled. I could have helped them if they had my number. I have all of my dad's info on my phone. But I was on a plane and unavailable. And my dad had fallen, hit his head and was a bit disoriented. Plus, he didn't have his hearing aids in and the EMTs didn't know to bring them. It was a recipe for disaster.

When I started creating the Refrigerator Emergency Kit, I reached out to a good friend I used to work with years ago. He is a paramedic with many years of experience, and I wanted his honest opinion. I asked him if something like this was actually needed. His answer was immediate.

“Yes!”

He told me there are programs out there, like Vial of Life, that are designed to help people keep emergency medical information available. They are good, but in his experience, many homes are still not well prepared.
When EMTs arrive, critical information is often missing, scattered, outdated, hard to access quickly, or nonexistent.

Medication lists may not be current. Allergy information may not be easy to find. Medical conditions may be incomplete or misunderstood. Emergency contacts may be buried in someone’s phone. Do Not Resuscitate orders may be filed away somewhere no one knows to look. Healthcare proxy information may not be available at all, even when it is critical because the patient cannot speak for themselves.

In an emergency, every one of those details can matter.

It is easy to assume emergency responders or hospital staff can “just look it up.” That is exactly what the staff taking care of my dad did that night. They looked it up. But what they found was old information from a hospital admission years earlier that had him on cardiac medications he no longer needed because he had open heart surgery they did not know about.

They put him on the cardiac drugs. One of them nearly killed him.

Essential information needs to be accessible in case of emergency. Not in an online portal no one can access or in a locked drawer no one knows to open. It may be in the memory of one family member, like me, who is not there, cannot be reached, or is too overwhelmed to think clearly.

Once the patient is transported, the need for clear information does not end. In many ways, it becomes even more important. The level of care changes. Decisions become more complex. ER staff may need more complete information about medications, diagnoses, allergies, recent changes, baseline mental status, code status, healthcare proxy contacts, and who is legally allowed to make decisions if the patient cannot speak for themselves.

This is especially important for older adults. I can't tell you how many times a healthcare provider assumed my 90-year-old dad was cognitively not okay. In reality, he is sharp as a tack and just didn't have his hearing aids in. 

My caregiving experience made some things very clear to me, both as a healthcare provider and as a daughter:

1. In a medical emergency, the right information needs to be easy to find. Not buried in a drawer. Not locked behind a phone passcode. Not sitting in an online portal no one can access. Not dependent on one overwhelmed family member trying to remember every medication, diagnosis, allergy, provider, document, and phone number while sitting in an ER waiting room.
2. Families do not need one more complicated system. They need something simple. Something visible. Something that can be easily updated. Something easy to find when it matters.

That is why I created the free Refrigerator Emergency Kit. The idea is simple. Gather the most important medical information and keep it in a clearly labeled red folder, envelope, or packet on the refrigerator.

Why the refrigerator?

Because it is one of the most common, visible, easy-to-identify places in a home. And my paramedic friend told me, and I confirmed, that most EMTs are trained to look there.

The Refrigerator Emergency Kit is not meant to replace full legal planning, medical records, or important conversations with family. It is meant to be a practical first step. A quick-access snapshot. A way to help the people who show up in an emergency have better information when it matters most.

It does not have to be fancy.
It does not have to be perfect.
It just needs to be visible and available.

Because the truth is, caregiving often begins before anyone is ready to call it caregiving. It begins with a phone call. A fall. A medication change. A hospital admission. A confused parent. A decision no one expected to make that day.

And in those moments, being prepared is not about being dramatic or expecting the worst. It is an act of love.
It is a way of saying:

I want the people helping me to have what they need. I do not want my family scrambling. I want important information to be easy to find. I want safer decisions to be possible.

We cannot prevent every emergency. We cannot control every outcome. But we can make sure critical information is not missing when people are trying to help.

​That is a small act of preparation that could make a very big difference.

It would have for my dad that day. That experience is the inspiration behind the free Refrigerator Emergency Kit.

It is free. It is simple. And it could save a life.

Download the free Refrigerator Emergency Kit here:
[Insert link]

And please share this with anyone you think needs to hear it. Quite honestly, I think that includes almost everyone who has someone they love and care about.


NOTE: The Refrigerator Emergency Kit is part of step A of my 5-part I.C.A.R.E. framework that is the foundation of my book, My Caregiving Essentials: What to Say, Do, and Prepare Before Caregiving Becomes Your Second Full-Time Job. To learn more about the book, click here.

---