When you think of a funeral home, the first thing that comes to mind may not be a life-saving initiative, but Lake Shore Funeral Home in McLennan County wants that to change.
The funeral home is partnering with Vital In Case of Emergency or ICE App, a phone application meant to be handy in emergency situations. The app is a platform that lists your vital medical information like blood type, allergies, medication and medical history. That information is then accessible to first responders. The app also allows you to keep that information for dependents as well as a list of contacts that can easily be reached if something does happen.
Lake Shore owner Brent Shehorn believes the application can be an important tool and is sponsoring free downloads for McLennan County. "First of all, your information you put in is unique to your phone. It's not shared in any way; your information is safe, but it's at your fingertips should you need it," Shehorn said.
Shehorn has encouraged all of his family members to get the app. "I told my kids to download, let's have it all ready to go, you know, in the event you need it. If something happens to me, they may not know the answers to some of my medical issues, so they would have that available on their phone."
In addition to medical information, the app has steps you can take in the 16 most common medical emergencies. The application can also send alerts with your location to approved family members. Shehorn said similar alert systems can cost a lot of money; he's hoping this easily accessible program can raise community awareness.
"We're here to serve, and by us picking up the costs of this app, it's a public service," he said.
The Vital ICE app can be downloaded for free in McLennan County on both the Apple and Google Play app stores. When downloaded, users will need to enter the county code; 5900 for McLennan County.
Lake Shore is offering a 5% discount on their professional service for both pre-need or at-the-time of need arrangements for app users. More information on the app can be found here.
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