Lifesaving baggie: Holts Summit kits offer medical information during emergencies

Hanna Lechner grabs a Vial of Life packet from Girl Scouts Savanna, right, and Login Huckstep during a press conference Tuesday at Central Bank in Holts Summit. The city handed out the small bags for medical information to be used in emergencies.
Hanna Lechner grabs a Vial of Life packet from Girl Scouts Savanna, right, and Login Huckstep during a press conference Tuesday at Central Bank in Holts Summit. The city handed out the small bags for medical information to be used in emergencies.

A plastic baggie, a sticker, two sheets of paper and a magnet - you take any advantage possible in an emergency situation, no matter how simple.

That was the message given Tuesday during a press conference in Holts Summit, where the first kits of the city's Vial of Life project were handed out. It's an uncomplicated solution to a serious problem.

The idea is straightforward - a small bag you can stick on your refrigerator that contains critical information you, your family and first responders can use in a medical emergency. Each Vial of Life also comes with a sticker to be put on your front door to let emergency services know to check the refrigerator.

"This is outstanding for elderly, disabled, special needs, disabled veterans, etc.," Holts Summit Mayor Landon Oxley said during the press conference. He added later, "I believe that this will be a great program to save lives."

Residents of Holts Summit and Lake Mykee can get a Vial of Life for free by going to Holts Summit City Hall. The kit fits into a small plastic baggie with a Vial of Life sticker on the front. Inside the baggie are instructions on how to use the kit, a paper to write medical information on, a magnet to use to stick the baggie to the fridge, and a sticker to be placed on the front door.

On the paper, one can include important details responders need to know in a medical emergency, including medications taken, allergies, hearing or vision disabilities, the name of one's doctor, medical conditions, height and weight, health insurance information, and an emergency contact.

Callaway County Sheriff Clay Chism and Holts Summit Police Chief Kyle McIntyre said their officers encounter the situations Vial of Life is trying to prevent, when they need a person's medical information but are unable to get it immediately.

"It just makes it to where if you see the sticker, you know that that's going to be hanging on the refrigerator, you can go in there if you have somebody that's unresponsive and you have all their information that you need right there," McIntyre said.

Chism and McIntyre said their officers already know about the project and to look for the sticker on the front door in an emergency.

"Anytime law enforcement can partner with the community to give resources back to our citizens, it's phenomenal," Chism said. "As I always preach, law enforcement in a part of the community, and anyway we can give back to our community is a win-win situation.

Holts Summit first began looking into Vial of Life when Oxley spoke to an old classmate about it during his 30-year class reunion. Oxley said he brought one of the baggies to a Board of Aldermen meeting to pitch it as an idea to help residents and first responders.

"I was thinking of my grandma who lives in Holts Summit, and I was thinking, you know, if something - heaven forbid - happened where she needs to have 911 (called) they don't know who to contact or if she's on any medication," he said.

Hanna Lechner, Holts Summit's city clerk, began working on the project, reaching out to a Girl Scout troop to put the kits together and Central Bank to pay for the materials. Five hundred kits were made, with the possibility for more if Holts Summit runs out.

Savanna Huckstep, 13, a scout in Troop 70300, and her older sister, Login Huckstep, 16, who helps out the troop, said they were glad to get involved with the project.

"In Girl Scouts, we help out, and we're helping our community," Savanna said. "We're all part of this small community."

Login said the troop spent around 11/2 hours during its meeting assembling the kits, and they continued working on them at home because "we think this is a great thing that will help save a lot of people's lives."

The work included cutting out magnets for each kit and using an assembly line to put in each item, Savanna added.

Darrell Mantle, community banking president for Central Bank, said the choice to provide funding for the materials was an easy one.

"There's a lot of worthy causes out there to support, and this one just really hit home," Mantle said. "For those that have a history of medical illness, what a great way to be able to communicate when you may not be able to communicate about your situation. Maybe save a life."

The project was also cheap to fund, only costing around $200 for all 500 kits.

It was a good opportunity to give back to the community, Mantle said, adding his part was easy. "I just had to write a check."

Central Bank will be willing to help pay for more materials if Holts Summit runs out of kits, he added.

"If it can save anybody's life, that's a wonderful thing to be a part of," Mantle said.