Refrigerator sticker offers life-saving information BY COTY DOLORES GUEST WRITER
T
he scenario is a frightening one, but one that happens to someone in Ahwatukee almost every day. A medical emergency occurs – a home accident, a recurrent medical problem, any number of things. Quickly, the Phoenix Fire Department paramedics arrive from one of the three village stations to handle the emergency. The patient is well-cared for and transported to the hospital. But there can be so many questions that arise: What medications are they on, or are allergic to? How is their house to be secured? Is there a neighbor or relative that should be contacted? Do they have a cell phone and charger, and where are they? Who’s their primary physician and how is she contacted? What is to be done with their pets left at home? In Ahwatukee, thanks to the vision of two local women and active community volunteers, there is a proactive solution for not only senior citizens residing here, but residents of any age. Linda Jochim and Karen Young, both members of the Senior Advocacy Group of Ahwatukee, originated the idea of MedStats kits in 2012 while researching a way for seniors to have all their medical history and important contact numbers and other information in one place in case of emergency. The MedStats packets, free upon request, were designed by the two women with input from the Phoenix Fire Department and the United Phoenix Firefighter’s Association, which donates the printing of the packages. Ahwatukee paramedic Captain Derrick Johnson of Station 46 was instrumental in providing suggestions for packet inclusions and in educating his fellow firefighters on the program.
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Jeanne McLain of Ahwatukee said the MedStats stick “literally saved my life.” “We needed a program for senior citizens to help keep them safe, and for first responders to have information immediately available to them during an emergency,” said Johnson, who has served Ahwatukee the last five years of his 34 years as a Phoenix firefighter and paramedic. See MED
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