Just a few short years ago, about ten, not everyone had a cell phone yet. Today, children as young as nine and people well into their 100s have cell phones. The age of the landline home phone continues to move further and further into the annals of history. For the growing number of seniors who have cell phones, for those who may rely on some form of senior care or not, it’s a good idea to store some important information into their phone.
One of those valuable pieces of information is known as the ICE contact. This is the ‘In Case of Emergency’ contact and many cell phones today actually have a designated contact just for that purpose. It will generally be highlighted in a different color than all other contacts, usually red as that is the universal color used to denote an emergency situation.
The ICE contact should be someone that authorities would contact if the person who owns the phone (the senior in this instance) is incapacitated and unable to contact that person themselves.
Why is it important to have an ICE?
First of all, you never know what is going to happen the moment that you step outside the door of your home. You could be driving down the road and be broadsided by a truck. If you are rushed to the hospital, the authorities would try to find your next of kin, someone who would want to know that you’ve been injured and been taken to a hospital.
What if you didn’t have your identification with you when that happened? What if the only thing you had was your cell phone? Many people have names like ‘Mom’ or ‘Dad’ in them, but rarely would an elderly individual write ‘Son’ or ‘Granddaughter’ in their cell phones.
If you have an elderly loved one who has a cell phone, whether they rely on any form of senior care services, it’s a good idea to make sure that they have an ICE contact in their phone. They might not know the first thing about programming their phone or adding numbers into it, so you may need to do this for them.
In most cases, this contact should be someone who will be able to answer the phone when they are called and living close enough to support them in a time of need. If your elderly loved one needs help adding an ICE contact, they can also ask a senior care provider or call their cell phone provider for help.