Staying Safe in the Garden
Whether you’re volunteering in a community garden and collapse OR you collapse while working in your own garden, could first responders find the information they need to treat you safely?
I posed that question to a high school friend who is a first responder and he told me that one of the first questions they ask a patient is if they are allergic to any type of medications.
Of course, if the patient is unconscious, the responders need to look elsewhere for that information. If they’re responding in your home they will probably look first on the refrigerator. But what if you’re outside or working in a community garden?
If you have allergies, whether to food, insects or medicines, you should be carrying that information with you and preferably on your person. Medical bracelets have long been used to provide first responders with the medical information they need when treating you.
But today our smart phones can also carry a lot of information — even more than you could ever put on a bracelet or necklace tag. For example, my medical ID on my iPhone has my name, age, sex, blood type, that I am an organ donor, any medical conditions I have, medical notes, allergies and reactions, a list of the medications I take and my blood type as well as my height and weight. Plus it has room for emergency contact information for my husband and other family members as well as my physician.
So today I took a little time to make sure that my medical information on my smartphone was complete and up-to-date and my husband did the same. The smart phones are always with us as they are for so many people these days so we’re letting them work for us in emergencies.
Should you update your medical information? Definitely. Or in the words of the old Nike commercial - Just Do It!
Creative and targeted programs that make an impact are the hallmark of experienced marketing professional Ruth Steele Walker. Focusing on results that improve the bottom line, she accelerates projects from conception to implementation with a mastery of writing, production, placement, budgeting and coordination.
During more than 25 years with Foremost Corporation of America, the nation's leading insurer of manufactured housing and recreational vehicles, Walker consistently produced effective communications programs that resulted in increased net written premium. Her expertise in crisis communications was a vital part of Foremost's exemplary customer service in the wake of hurricanes, floods and earthquakes. Walker specializes in communications targeting the 50+ demographic, with an emphasis in communications for the 65+ segment.
Among other achievements, Walker developed communications for the merger of Foremost and Farmers Insurance, addressing audiences including customers, employees, trade and consumer media. For Foremost's 50th anniversary, she created a celebration program of internal and external promotions, special events, recognition and a 162-page commemorative book.
Earlier in her career, Walker was a newspaper reporter, a TV and radio producer, and worked in national sales and traffic at network TV affiliates. Walker earned a BA in journalism from Michigan State University and an MS in communications from Grand Valley State University.
She and her husband Scott operate a small vineyard in Michigan's Leelanau Peninsula, producing premium vinifera wine grapes. The vineyard has been the largest local supplier for Suttons Bay wine label L. Mawby, recently named one of the world's top producers of sparkling wines.
