Emergency Telephone Sheet
By Stacy DeBroff

Create an emergency phone list to provide everyone involved in your home with instant access to critical information and phone numbers. Leave a copy by every telephone, in your car, and in your diaper bag. Hand a copy to every new babysitter and every family member who watches your child.

Your emergency sheet should include:

~ Phone numbers for poison control, ambulance, police, fire department, and your electric, oil, and gas companies

~ Work, cell phone, and pager numbers of both parents, as well as work addresses

~ Phone numbers of legal guardians or people to call in case neither parent can be reached, listed in order of who to call first

~ Phone numbers where other children can be reached, or to reach your child during the day, including day care, school, and activities

~ Your precise address and phone number. Driving directions to your home from known landmarks. Directions to the nearest emergency room from your home.

~ Contact numbers for medical providers:

~ Pediatrician

~ Dentist

~ Specialists

~ Pharmacist, as well as the closest 24-hour pharmacy

~ Your child’s information:

~ Full name, nickname, blood type

~ Age, height, weight, hair and eye color

~ Allergies, medical issues, and medications

~ Date of last tetanus booster

~ Brief medical history of serious illnesses or injuries

~ Notarized letter stating that your hospital has permission to treat your child for a life-threatening illness or injury. The letter should include emergency contacts, the name and phone number of your pediatrician, your child’s allergies, medications she takes, and health insurance information. Make copies for care providers or family members babysitting your child. Call nearby hospitals and schools to see if you can leave this note on file with them.

~ Photocopies of your child’s medical insurance card

~ If you have a pet, include the name and number of your veterinarian, and an emergency number, if it’s different

~ The locations of emergency first aid books, the poison control kit, fire extinguishers, flashlights, and tools or keys for unlocking doors in the house

~ Keep handy instructions for emergency first-aid and the Heimlich maneuver.

Stacy DeBroff is author of “The Mom Book, 4,278 Tips for Moms!” and founder of www.momcentral.com