So I'm making an emergency card that I will carry in my wallet. What would you include on an emergency card that you carry with you at all times?

I'm making this emergency card with the person that comes upon my unconscious body (due to an accident, illness, etc.) in mind. I want to put as much clear information as possible on this card. As a secondary use I plan to use it in place of an address or contacts book.

The card is the size of a standard credit card.
What do you think of what I'm including?

Emergency contacts grouped by household i.e. My Household, My In-Laws' Household
The Emergency Contacts will have their:
-First and Last Names
-Association to me
-Home, Work and/or Cell phone numbers
-Address

Health Insurance information including:
-The Name of the health insurance company
-Toll free number for the health insurance company
-ID #
-Group #
-Bin # (whatever that is)

Pre-Paid Phone card information including:
-The Toll Free Access Number
-PIN Number
-Customer Service Number
-Toll Free Access Number for use in Mexico
-Toll Free Access Number for use in Canada
This Pre Paid Phone card information will be disguised on the card so no one, but myself will know what it is or how to use it.

Vital information about my family:
-Blood Types
-Allergies
-Medical Conditions
-Medications
-Social Security Numbers and Birth Dates (these will be located somewhere else on the card and disguised so no one, but my family and I can read them)

Measuring Increments... Like a ruler...You know, for measuring.

How much is too much information? If this card were lost or stolen... What information should not be included for the safety and security of the contacts included on the card (or even myself)?

So far with all that I still have the entire back of the card blank. What other information should be included?
Religious preference? (for burial purposes)
Moris Code Legend?
My wife's secret Thanksgiving turkey recipe?


I've even been considering the card's physical make up too.
I was thinking of printing it on yellow or orange fluorescent paper. But that might be hard for a person to read.

I was also considering laminating it with a plastic that is easy to write on with pencil or erasable ink pen. I don't know why, but I was thinking the card could also be written on and then erased if needed.


Any input?
Thanks
Waynburg


/edit forgot to mention I'm including the last time the card was updated. That way anyone that reads the card will know how current the information is.

Wayne--

Good idea. I did something similar several years ago after my wife was placed in the "high-risk pregnancy" category.

I used fluorescent 3x5" index cards, printing on the blank back side in "portrait" orientation (short side horizontal), which is then folded to fit into a card window in my wallet (in my case). My card is day-glow green; my wife's is hot pink. I still have bright yellow & blue for my kids, when I get around to theirs. Each card is clearly labeled Emergency Medical Information. I used an Arial typeface for clarity, & small, though clearly legible, characters, to fit the desired info onto the card, with the information grouped similarly to yours.

Addressing color first, I wanted something extremely visible, hence my choice of the fluorescent cards. The info I included was the same as yours, except I didn't include in-laws address (can be cross-referenced from the phone number if needed), nor phone card info, since I carry one anyway. Basically, I wanted the card to provide everything needed to check me (or my wife) into the hospital--so that it could be used if either of us were unable to answer for ourselves, or (from bitter experience & 20/20 hindsight), I could give it to someone trusted (such as an in-law) & let them complete the Q & A with the check-in clerk at the ER while I was with my wife in the ER.

I have a number of friends who are Paramedics, & I had them review my cards. They all agreed the bright color was good (it helps them locate it in a wallet when/if they have to search for ID), as was the info on the card. You might consider placing sensitive information on the opposite side of the card, & folding the card, then laminating it, either with a real laminator, or using clear packing tape for the same effect, with a “cut here for more info” if appropriate. (Our local Fire Department uses such a folded & laminated card as a personnel control device at emergency scenes: Name on the outside, contact information sealed inside. It’s opened in case of need.) The clear tape or other lamination is especially important if you use a laser printer to print the information. The print toner tends to permanently attach itself to the clear plastic card sleeves in my wallet.

When my wife was pregnant, her card went into a 3x5" plastic sleeve, & around her neck on a dog-tag ball chain when she was commuting, & in a visible spot in her purse at other times. We each have a copy of the other's card, too. I showed my wife's card to her Ob/Gyn, who liked the idea so much that I gave her office staff the Word template I'd created for them to pass on to other high-risk patients.

Also, as you're already aware, you're giving out a lot of information on such a card--it's a risk you must weigh, but IMHO is worth taking.

David

Here's what's on our yellow laminated helmet tags at the fire department.
These are used to identify us if we're incapacitated in the fire. It's actually more than we need to notify next of kin and all that.

Name
Department (you won't need that)
Home Phone
Emergency Contact Name (don't care WHO it is or relationship)
Emergency Contact Phones (up to 3) (we can track ANY US and Canada number back to an address - including cell phone numbers)
Blood Type
Normal Blood Pressure
Normal Pulse
Allergies
Medical Conditions
Medications Taken Daily


Contrary to popular belief, us emergency workers will actually provide medical care for people that dont' have insurance! Really! Why me and Paul (another fireman) did CPR on a woman in cardiac arrest and not once did we stop to check for her medical insurance card.

All the rest of your suggested items are nothing more than an identity theft kit and are NOT needed in an emergency.

Martin--

While I can't speak for Wayne, he'd probably agree--please don't think anything I said was meant to imply that emergency services personnel would not help someone in need without first checking for insurance!

As I stated, "Basically, I wanted the card to provide everything needed to check me (or my wife) into the hospital--so that it could be used if either of us were unable to answer for ourselves, or (from bitter experience & 20/20 hindsight), I could give it to someone trusted (such as an in-law) & let them complete the Q & A with the check-in clerk at the ER while I was with my wife in the ER." [emphasis added]

The "bitter experience" to which I referred was a miscarriage at approximately 16 weeks. I was stuck at the ER sign-in desk with a bumbling, officious (insert other derogatory adjectives of your choice here--I'm trying not to sink to profanity) jerk of a clerk while my wife was bleeding severely & frantically asking where I was. I could have handed an info card off to her mother, & been with my wife while they prepped her for an emergency D & C.

No paramedics or other EM personnel were involved; I transported her to the ER & we met the doctor there. Given the circumstances & where we live, it was faster than waiting on an ambulance or the volunteer rescue squad (I'm not knocking any of those guys & gals--I truly appreciate their work & dedication!)

Sorry if I sound a bit cranky--reliving one of the worst nights of my life makes me that way. However, the events of that night prompted me to act afterward, because I wasn't properly prepared at the time. We are now. (We now have 2 beautiful children, too!)

Respectfully,

David

As I stated in my original post...
As a secondary use I plan to use it in place of an address or contacts book.

If you'll notice I addressed this by mentioning that any information that could be used for identity theft would be
located somewhere else on the card and disguised so no one, but my family and I can read them

Nothing more than an identity theft kit... Thanks for the opinion.

David,

Thank you for your reply. Let me start this post by saying I am sorry for your loss. I am happy to hear you were blessed again with little ones. I have one 2 year old and one on the way. This is the main reason for this emergency card. I would have replied to your post first since you did reply to me first, but I felt that other guy's post needed to be addressed immediately.

Thanks for the constructive input on the physical make up of your emergency card. I had my doubts about using yellow or orange fluorescent paper. I'm glad to hear it has been used with good results.

I like the idea about folding and then lamiating the folded card too. I have something to add to that idea. Why not make a little cut at the 'cut here for more info' instruction. You know... like on a packet of ketcup. That way the person who needs that info doesn't need a knife to open the card.

Thanks
Wayneburg



/edit I forgot to mention why I'm including the relation these emergency contacts have to me. This way whoever comes upon my unconscious body can determine who to contact in what order. And they will know what relation each contact has to the others. As I stated they will be placed in groups on the card by household.

I feel I need this information on the card. If it wasn't there then I would just make a card that says....
"IN CASE OF EMERGENCY CALL 911"
and leave it at that.

Would anyone care to share a template for the rest of us feeling the need.

I absolutely love this thought provoking forum. It is an absolute necessity in this uncertain world. Keep the great topics coming!


ONE DAY CLOSER!

Ok I'm using Microsoft Word
I made a text box with the following:
2.12" high
3.37" wide
all internal margins are set at 0.05"

Font Settings:
Subscript selected
Arial Narrow
Size 11

Character Spacing Settings:
Spacing Condensed 0.1pt
Position Raised 1pt

Paragraph Settings:
Under the Spacing section Line spacing is set to Multiple at .53

This will make a card the size of a standard credit card with text a little bigger than the text on the back of a credit card.

That's what I'm using
Wayneburg

Wayne--

I've changed PCs since creating ours; I'll have to see if I can find the originals on the old one, or at work.

However, if memory serves, the font sizes are 9 & 11 point(as opposed to a more "normal" 10 & 12 point type), with 7 or 8 being used for the "fine print", such as date of last update, or notes about dose & frequency of daily meds, with bold & italics used for emphasis when needed.

Re: The "tear here" notch--not a bad idea, but depending on what you use to laminate the card, it may be well nigh unto impossible to tear with bare hands (and/or teeth).

Thanks, too, for your kind words. Hope everything goes well with your little one "on the way."

David

Thanks for the kind thoughts David.

I've considered using glow in the dark ink for either the card itself or the text. Haven't decided yet. From what I've been reading about glow in the dark paints, it may be easier to paint a card (or the area you expect the card to be printed on a piece of printer paper) and then print out the card. Here's the site for the glow paint.
http://glowinc.com/default.aspx

The card may be so bright that it can be used to find your way around a dark house. Of course the card would have to be in the light for some amount of time before the lights go out. Not a very good chance of that happening if the card is in my wallet... right? <img src="images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Wayneburg