HomeMy WebLinkAboutLifeFile-11-03-31
Contact: Jennifer Bennerotte, Communications & Marketing Director
Phone 952-833-9520 • Fax 952-826-0390 • Web www.CityofEdina.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Edina ‘Life File’ can be downloaded, completed at
home
Edina, Minn., March 31, 2011 – If you are unconscious or otherwise unable to speak during an
emergency within your home, an up-to-date “Life File” affixed to the front of your refrigerator could
help first responders save your life.
Edina’s “Life File” is a new form available for download on the City’s website. Residents are asked to
download and print the form, and then fill it out with important medical information that could be
useful to paramedics during an emergency. Once complete, the form should be placed in an
envelope clearly labeled “LIFE FILE” and affixed to the outside of your home’s kitchen refrigerator.
Paramedics have been trained to look for the “Life File” during in-home emergencies.
The “Life File” contains two pages of medical questions, but residents can complete it with as much
or as little detail as they are comfortable sharing. Edina paramedics recommend that at a minimum,
the form include information on allergies, current medications, diseases or conditions, and
emergency contacts. By having this information readily accessible, first responders will be able to
more accurately diagnose and treat patients en route to the hospital.
“The ‘Life File’ is a valuable resource for everyone, regardless of age,” said Edina Fire Chief Marty
Scheerer. “Even if you don’t have any allergies or diseases, or you don’t use any medications, it’s
important for doctors to know that during treatment.”
“Life File” has recently replaced the “Vial of Life” program, which had been utilized by the City’s first
responders prior to this spring. Any residents who currently have a “Vial of Life” inside of their
refrigerator are asked to transfer the information to the new “Life File.” Paramedics will no longer
be looking inside refrigerators for the “Vial of Life.”
To download and print a “Life File,” visit www.CityofEdina.com/Health and click on “Life File.” For
more information, contact the Edina Fire Department at 952-826-0326. Limited printed copies will
be available for those without computers at the Edina Senior Center, 5280 Grandview Square.
-30-