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Sept 2008
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Who Ya Gonna Call?
The answer from the movie is “Ghost Busters.” Let's ask that question from the perspective of an emergency situation.
At dinner with friends one evening, the husband who is a fireman trained as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) recounted a time when his Team responded to an emergency call to the home of an elderly couple. Upon arrival they found that the husband had died. Our friend asked if there was someone he could call for the wife's support. She responded that there really was no one she could think of at the time so he called the on-call pastoral support person within the Fire Department.
It was then that the title for this article occurred to us. Who does one call? What if one lives alone, how will responders know who to call? We have previously written about the importance of always carrying emergency numbers when traveling.
So it is equally important to have the names and numbers of family, friends, physician and spiritual support easily accessible around our home. This information can be kept in one's wallet or purse which is a logical place for an emergency responder to look. That way one complete list of important names and phone numbers would do for both the home and travel situation.
Whether you live alone, with family or in a congregate care setting, I encourage you to have a list of individuals you would like to have called in case of a medical emergency. Being prepared will help you and your loved one's in addition to that emergency responder who only has your best interest in mind.
This article was written in collaboration with my wife Joann. We can be reached at gcnreno@gmail.com) if you have comments or suggestions for future articles.