Ivey Funeral Home has teamed with a new health emergency app called Vital ICE (In Case of Emergency) to help Decatur County EMS save more lives through the use of technology.

Decatur County residents can download the Vital ICE app onto a smartphone through the Apple App Store or Google Play and enter code 2785 to receive immediate access. In an emergency situation, first responders can use the Vital ICE app to retrieve users’ vital information such as height, weight, medications and any other information that would be helpful in saving a life.

Information can also be sent directly to the ER where staff can be ready to treat whatever emergency has occurred.

Ivey Funeral Home presented the app to Bainbridge and Decatur County law enforcement and EMS officials Wednesday.

“When the Vital ICE folks approached me, my first thought was, OK, we are in the dead people business, and this is about saving lives,” said Dana Bryant, family services coordinator at Ivey Funeral Home. “My second thought was, this was about how my people who were in the live people business can work smarter, not harder. How can we be a community partner to help you do your job smarter, not harder?”

The standard version of Vital ICE is available to all Decatur County residents on behalf of Ivey Funeral Home. This version of the app has:

• Robust database of user-provided medical information, and easily accessible by emergency first responders.
• First aid treatment protocol for 16 common emergencies, which provides assistance when EMS is not present.
• Dependent information can also be listed, providing EMS with additional family information in certain situations.
• Call 911 and sound an audible alarm from within the app, saving first responders time in locating the patient.
• User’s medical information can be emailed to any email address, which can assist in communication with ER’s.
• Receive important push notifications from participating EMS/FD, which can provide important local emergency instructions when needed.