When Maryville resident Deb Maupin's 18-year-old daughter was critically injured in a car accident in 2002, she learned the hard way how important it is to have identification and telephone information available to emergency responders. It took hospital and emergency personnel three hours to locate and notify Maupin of her daughter?s accident. Maupin, who previously worked as an emergency room nurse, knew that it was not uncommon for emergency personnel to have

 

"My daughter, Emily, was a Middle Tennessee State University student at the time," Maupin said. "She was pulling out at a green light when an oncoming truck ran a red light and struck her car.  Emily had a head injury and multiple fractures. Unconscious and unable to verbally respond to emergency personnel, law enforcement attempted to reach us through the address on her driver's license but no one was at home that afternoon. It took hours for them to notify us but if someone I had worked with in the emergency room hadn't recognized Emily, it would have been much longer by the time we got home and heard the message on our answering machine telling us to call the emergency room."

 

The experience with Emily, combined with her time working in emergency rooms, led Maupin to the conclusion that people need to have identification and contact information available to emergency responders, so she developed Emergency Links Matter Kits. Maupin's Emergency Links Matter Kits, known as "ELM Kits," provide contact information such as home, work, pager and cell numbers of relatives and friends in a place that is easily accessible to emergency personnel if an accident victim is unresponsive or severely traumatized. Maupin?s product line includes athletic wrist bands, car visors, wallet cards and children?s car seats that prominently show how to contact family members in the event of an emergency. The products sell for $9.95 to $19.95 and are available online at www.emergencylinksmatter.com and at all East Tennessee AAA offices.

"These products are great for kids when they're on field trips or traveling to an athletic event for school," Maupin said. "They're also for runners and bicyclists who don't usually carry identification with them. The truth is that people just don't usually think about this kind of thing. It's a proactive way for people to have a safeguard in place if something unexpected happens. I have auto and health insurance even though I hope I never have to use them. The ELM Kits are the same thing; I wouldn't go a day without them even though I hope I never need it."

 

Maupin said she developed the children's car seat kit especially for situations when a car seat has to be moved due to parents switching cars or when a child is traveling with grandparents, baby sitters or friends. Businesses that have staff on the road, such as sales representatives, have also found the ELM Kits to be a worthwhile safety tool in case one of their employees has an accident, according to Maupin.

 

In addition to easy access to contact information, the kits provide information about any medical conditions and allergies that may be important for treatment, and can include a photo ID. For more information about the ELM Kits, visit the Web site or call (865) 983-5350 or toll-free 1-800-730-4356.