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| | | (JASON WRIGHT/www.forsythherald.com)
Capt. Jason Shivers, Fire Inspector General for Forsyth County, shows off one of the bottles used in the Vial of Life program at the Kroger pharmacy at Lakeland Plaza off Ga. 20. The program lets firefighters and EMTs instantly know where to find pertinent medical information for unresponsive callers. | |
June 23, 2008
www.northfulton.com
FORSYTH COUNTY -- According to its annual report, of the 10,530 service calls the Forsyth County Fire Department responded to in 2007, more than half were strictly medical.
And on those calls, first responders need all the medical information they can get -- often it can mean the difference between life and death.
Now the Vial of Life initiative, an inventive new program made possible through a partnership between the Forsyth County Fire Department and Kroger Pharmacy, will help provide this vital information.
In short, citizens of Forsyth County fill out a medical history information sheet, then stuff it in a free medical vial that goes in the refrigerator. A sticker on the resident's door lets firefighters know they participate in the program.
"For a patient who can't communicate, it's great for allergies and medical history," said Jason Shivers, Fire Inspector General for Forsyth County. "The possibilities are endless as to how this can benefit an individual."
The vials -- stuffed for the department by volunteers at the Forsyth County senior center -- are free and available at any Kroger pharmacy in the county. They are also available at any manned fire station and on fire apparatus.
"Its completely free," said Shivers. "You just have to ask. And it's great to have on board [the fire trucks]. All they have to do is grab one and give it to the public as part of their basic response."
While the program is aimed toward seniors -- volunteers from the county senior center contacted Kroger after a similar program lost funding -- anyone can take advantage of Vial of Life.
Lori Cowart is a geriatric pharmacist for Kroger. She was contacted by interested seniors and brought the program to her bosses over a year ago.
Cowart said with Forsyth County's aging population growing by leaps and bounds, firefighters will be seeing more single seniors on calls. That means the Vial of Life can do the talking for them.
"I'm glad I work for a place that cares enough about the community to sponsor this program," she said.
Trey Freeman, Kroger's district manager for pharmacies, said its all part of the store's mission in the local customers.
"We take great pride in working with the community," he said. "Each store is a neighborhood store."
For his part, Shivers was thrilled that the efforts of the fire department, Kroger and the senior center were able to meld together into a common-sense program that's bound to save lives.
"This is a great example of how successfully a public/private partnership can be," he said.
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