Dear GTX Corp,

Monday, August 30, 2010

I was lucky enough to have been lent one of your GL 100 LOCi GPS tracking devices for a recent high school project. It worked tremendously and I want to describe the experience for you.

On May 22nd, 2010, a balloon containing probes and an HD video camera constructed by 12 students at The Bay School of San Francisco was launched from Carmel State River Beach, and traveled over 75,000 feet into the air before bursting and returning to earth some 80 minutes later. The balloon and its attached equipment traveled close to 80 miles east, landing on the edge of the central valley.

In order to observe the movements vertically and horizontally of the balloon, including locating its landing spot so that recovery could be achieved, the team of students used three separate methods to track the travel of the near space balloon. One of these methods was the use of a LOCi tracker. This device, only a couple inches in length, is a new design from GTX Corp (GTXO) using a multi-step process to track whatever it is attached to in real time. The first operation is to figure out its location by triangulation from satellites, using standard GPS technology. It then broadcasts its location in cellular wave format, using standard cell towers to get the information back to GTX's servers, where the location is stored for the end user to see via GTX's website.

Traveling up to 75,000 feet in the air, and surviving under the extreme conditions that prevail there is an extreme challenge for any electronic device, but the LOCi tracker preformed admirably, recording its location and sending out its location whenever it was possible to establish a connection to a cell tower. When the balloon had traveled to a certain height, it was impossible to reach down to the cell towers which were not designed for this purpose, so there is a temporary blank spot on the map when this occurred, however, after the balloon ascended to within range of a cell tower, it immediately began re-broadcasting.

The LOCi tracker worked remarkably well in finding its location and sending it back out so that from anywhere in the world, we could view its location via internet. The genius of the design is in the simplicity. There is very few ways for this to go wrong, and we did not experience any of it. Without accurate tracking on the balloon, we not only would not have known its height and travel pattern, but we also never would have found where it landed, which was necessary to recover the recorded video. The LOCi tracker never failed in this regard.

Here is a webpage including information about, and a video of, the flight of the near space balloon: http://ikaros.xrg.us/.

Robin
Age 16, Junior The Bay School

When You Travel do You Carry Your Medical Records With You?

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

What would happen if you or a member of your family were in a strange city or even another country and had a medical emergency?

Your personal medical records are back home in your Doctor's office in a file on a shelf. Worse yet, your Doctor's office is closed and they can only help you if the answering service can contact them right away and your Doctor can remember enough about your medications, allergies and any conditions your are being treated for to help your attending physician, or Emergency Medical Technician, with the proper course of treatment. It could be worse, if you are unconscious or incapacitated and cannot speak for yourself, the attending medical professional would not even know whom to try to contact, leaving them no option but to do their best with no pertinent information about you or your current condition.

When time is of the essence, the above scenario is unacceptable and could cost you, or a loved one, their life.

Over 100,000 people die every year from preventable medical errors. That makes this the fifth leading cause of death in the United States alone. Over 90% of those errors could have been avoided if the EMT or doctor had quick and easy access to vital information about the patient when first treated.

Emergency personnel are trained to look for Emergency Medical Information when they arrive on the scene. Unfortunately, they rarely find it.

Fortunately, you have a secure and affordable solution for you and your family that will protect you world wide.

The Code Amber Alertag is always with you and provides secure access (256 bit encryption, the same as your bank uses) to your Personal Medical Records electronically within seconds from anywhere in the world from any Internet enabled device including smart phones. Literally everything a Doctor or EMT would need to know in order to treat you or a family member at their finger tips in seconds.

Code Amber Alertag, never leave home without it.

AT&T Launches QR Code Scanning App for BlackBerry and Android - via Mashable

Monday, August 9, 2010

We've talked a lot about how QR codes are poised to take off in the mainstream and now AT&T is jumping on the bandwagon with a new set of tools for Android and BlackBerry phones.

The company has just announced its AT&T Code Scanner application and its AT&T Create-a-Code service. Code Scanner is a free app for BlackBerry and Android (Android) devices that scans both 2D (QR and datamatrix) and 1D (UPC and EAN) barcodes. You can get it from the BlackBerry App World or the Android Market (Android Market) or by going to http://scan.mobi/ on your mobile device.

Information on the Code Amber Alertag is instantly accessible by scanning the QR code on the Alertag.

730,000 kids die every year due to accidents

Monday, July 26, 2010

kids ages 5 to 14 get hurt more often than bikers of any other age! Among American children and adolescents, sports and recreational activities comprise about 21 percent of all traumatic brain injuries. Head injury is the leading cause of wheeled sports related deaths. In fact, among children ages 0 to 14, traumatic brain injuries result in 400,000 emergency room visits every year, according to healthline.com. Thankfully, more kids are wearing helmets and carrying Code Amber Alertags.

A study by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality says sports-related injuries are a major factor of kids visits to the emergency room. In 2006, 22 percent of hospital emergency department visits were for kids ages 5 to 17 due to sports-related injuries. Boys had three times more visits than girls. Teens also outnumbered younger children - teens were five times more likely to be treated in emergency departments.

When a kid arrive at the hospital having suffered a head trauma, they may be incoherent or worse unconscious. Who will answer the hospital staffs 20 questions...Allergies, preexisting conditions, blood type, medications and so on.

That is why the prepared parent has each of their children... and themselves carry the Code Amber Alertag. The unthinkable may happen and if it did you would be assured of the proper treatment because the health professions providing services were well informed.

Summer myths that put kids at risk

Monday, July 19, 2010

So says NANCY CHURNIN / Staff writer of The Dallas Morning News

Emergency-room professionals have their own name for the long, lovely, lazy days that kids look forward to in summer: trauma season. Because that's when hospitals see a spike in drownings and heat-related accidents.

MYTH: Pool parties are safe as long as adults are around.
FACT: In a minute, a child can go under water. In two or three minutes, the child can lose consciousness. In four or five, the child could suffer irreversible brain damage or die. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional, injury-related death for children 1 to 14 years old, second only to car and transportation-related accidents.

MYTH: It's safe to keep kids in car seats when the driver gets out for a quick errand.
FACT: The temperature inside a car can rise quickly in the summer, leading to brain damage, kidney failure and death in minutes. When outside temperatures are between 80 F to 100 F, the temperature inside a car can quickly rise to more than 170 F. With an outdoor temperature of 83 F, internal car temperatures can reach 109 F within 15 minutes, even with windows rolled down two inches. Children are less able to handle extreme heat than adults.

Sources: Dr. Philip Ewing, physician in the emergency department at Children's Medical Center; Dr. Mark Till, chairman of emergency medicine at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas; Terri Ford, community health outreach manager at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth; and Dr. John F. Marcucci, emergency department medical director at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano.

There are some simple steps that you can take to prepare yourself and your family should an unintentional accident occur while having some summer fun.

Don't let your child become a statistic.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Of the 800,000 children reported missing each year, only 115 abductions are actual kidnappings where a child is detained overnight, transported at least 50 miles, held for ransom or intended to be kept permanently or worse still...killed.

It only takes a minute to sign up for the Code Amber Ticker which will make you a member of a community of thousands of concerned citizens just like yourself. When everyone is watching everyone else, perpetrators have no where to hide.

"The lazy, hazy days of summer are a lot deadlier than parents may recognize"

Monday, June 28, 2010

So says Angela Mickalide, program director for the Washington-based group dedicated to the prevention of unintentional childhood injury.

According to Trauma Season: A National Study of the Seasonality of Unintentional Childhood Injury, the campaign's study of six years of data reveals accidents are the leading cause of death in children aged 14 and under, with kids 10 to 14 particularly vulnerable.

The study's findings confirm reports from health professionals that child injuries and deaths from drowning, falls, bike, pedestrian and motor vehicle accidents spike every summer.

There are some simple steps that you can take to prepare yourself and your family should an unintentional accident occur while having some summer fun.

There are many reasons why you should have a Code Amber Alertag

"Summer is what we call trauma season - It's a Peak Time for Accidents."

Monday, June 21, 2010

So says Matthew Denenberg, division chief for pediatrics at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Summer is always a scary season. Swimming, biking, gardening, hiking, adventure travel - contribute to a rise in injury and illness related to all that fun in the sun.

Find out what you can do to protect yourself and your family while having some summer fun.

Code Amber Alertag alerts medical personnel to complicating medical conditions such as Diabetes

Natural Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol

Monday, June 14, 2010

High cholesterol has long been known to raise the risk of heart and blood vessel disease in people with diabetes and without. Unfortunately, it's very common among Americans generally, including those with diabetes. The good news is that there's a lot you can do to lower your cholesterol and, consequently, lower your risk of heart disease. Making the effort to lower blood cholesterol is especially important for people with diabetes - Type 1 or Type 2 - who have a higher risk of heart disease than the general public.

Read More Here

Code Amber Alertag alerts medical personnel to conditions such as Diabetes

While GPS tracking can answer the "where" question,

Monday, June 7, 2010

the Code Amber Alertag knows the answers to the "who, what and when" questions that first responders to emergencies need to know to provide informed treatment.

2 Way GPS has helped the lives of thousands by guiding emergency services to the precise location of people and pets in need of immediate attention. Getting there quickly however is only the first step.

That's why everyone needs a Code Amber Alertag

Diabetes drug risks B12 deficiency

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

LONDON - PATIENTS treated over long periods with metformin, a common drug for diabetes, are at risk of developing vitamin B12 deficiency which is also likely to get worse over time, according to a study published on Friday.

Dutch scientists who carried out the study said the findings suggest that regular checking of vitamin B-12 levels during long-term metformin treatment should be 'strongly considered' to try to prevent deficiency and its effects.

Coen Stehouwer of Maastricht University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, whose study was published in the British Medical Journal, said symptoms of B12 deficiency include fatigue, mental changes, anaemia and nerve damage known as neuropathy. All these symptoms can easily be misdiagnosed as being due to diabetes and its complications, or to ageing, he said, but checking B12 levels could help doctors to assess the real cause and treat it if it was found to be B12 deficiency.

Read the complete article here.

US kidnapping statistics have not been routinely kept, and is not one of the crimes included in the FBI's national Uniform Crime Reporting database.

Monday, May 24, 2010

• There is approximately one child abduction murder for every 10,000 missing child reports.
• It is possible that the crime was committed by a family member. Finkelhor & Ormrod state that family kidnapping is committed primarily by parents, and has a 43% likelihood of being the female partner, much higher than in other kidnapping types.
• Family kidnapping happens equally to children of both sexes.
• 49% of juvenile kidnapping offences are family kidnappings, 27% acquaintance kidnappings and only 24% are stranger kidnappings.
• Acquaintance kidnapping involves a "comparatively high percentage of juvenile perpetrators, has the largest percentage of female and teenage victim, is more often associated with other crimes (especially sexual and physical assault), occurs at homes and residences and has the highest percentage of injured victims."
• Stranger kidnapping "victimizes more females than males, occurs primarily at outdoor locations, victimizes both teenagers and school-age children, is associated with sexual assaults in the case of girl victims and robberies in the case of boy victims, and is the type of kidnapping most likely to involve the use of a firearm."

It's smarter the have a Code Amber Alertag and not need it than to need it and not have one.

Do you need to have more confidence about the decisions you make regarding your medical care?

Monday, May 17, 2010

To get the health care you deserve take charge of your health care records and carry your medical history with you at all times. You will be an empowered patient with greatly improved the doctor patient communication and decrease the chances for medical errors.

If you have a chronic illness, take prescriptive drugs or suffer severe allergic reactions you need to inform the emergency or medical professionals treating you� tell a story that helps them help you.

Professionals generally suggest that you collect at least three generations of medical history. Relatives whose medical history has the most impact on you include your first- (children, siblings and parents) and second-degree relatives (grandchildren, nieces/nephews, aunts/uncles and grandparents).

The best place to keep that information is a Code Amber Alertag.

Over 100,000 people die every year from preventable medical errors.

Monday, May 10, 2010

That makes this the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. Over 90% of those errors could have been avoided if the EMT or doctor had quick and easy access to vital information about the patient when first treated.

Emergency personnel are trained to look for Emergency Medical Information when they arrive on the scene. Unfortunately, they rarely find it. With Code Amber Alertag they can access the medical information you chose to make available, including dangerous allergic reactions, by simply entering the Security Code printed on the tag at IDAmber.com's secure web site (Demo). The information display on IDAmber.com is optimized for cell phones, and all other wireless devices, providing immediate access to your vital information on the scene.

It's smarter the have a Code Amber Alertag and not need it than to need it and not have one.

PARENTAL CHILD-SNATCHING IS EPIDEMIC

Monday, May 2, 2010

Parental kidnapping is the abduction and/or concealment of a child without the consent of the other parent. Over 200 cases of parental child abduction - child snatching, child stealing, and child abduction - occur each day in the United States. When non-custodial parents resort to kidnapping, they believe they are acting in the best interests of their children. Although a minority of parental kidnappers may actually save their children by taking them out of the reach of the other parent, the motives of most parents who abduct their children are not for altruistic reasons.

Although the majority of parents who kidnap their children attempt to justify their behavior as the only way to ensure the best interests of the child, the child's best interests are usually not considered.

Unlike other services, CodeAmber.com will post alerts for parentally kidnapped children and do its best to distribute the descriptions of the parties involved across the continental US and the provinces of Canada without the narrow requirements required to publish an Amber Alert.

Read More

New guidelines for N.J. Amber Alerts are less rigid after alleged East Orange baby abduction by father

Monday, April 26, 2010

TRENTON -- Attorney General Paula Dow said today new guidelines on Amber Alerts will allow the notices to be broadcast in situations where children are abducted by family members. The state's current rules discourage using the alerts, intended to notify the public about missing children, in domestic custody cases. The changes come in the wake of a February incident during which a father allegedly abducted his 3-month-old daughter then threw her off the Driscoll Bridge into the Raritan River. No Amber Alert was ready to be issued until four hours after the abduction, when the father was already arrested.

Code Amber Alertag - Bringing Medical Alerts into the 21st Century

Monday, April 19, 2010

Code Amber Alertag is a service which provides access to your secure digital information to you, your loved ones or first responders in emergency situations. Each personal Code Amber Alertag is a secure account. Code Amber Alertag account can store photos, documents, emergency medical information, contacts (family members, doctors, etc.). In case of an accident or emergency, your personal information can be retrieved by reading the QR (Quick Response) Code on the tag from most smart phones or the human readable number can be typed into any web enabled wireless device for quick and easy, yet secure, access to your vital personal information.

In the event of insulin shock (Hypoglycemia), time is of the essence in receiving proper treatment as you know. If the affected individual is carrying Alertag, complete information for their treatment, and any potentially complicating factors, is available within seconds by accessing the person's profile on our secure web site from any web enabled device. This can be a life saving situation.

It is smarter to have a Code Amber Alertag and not need it, than to need it and not have one.

Imminent meant now, not latter for little Zara.

Monday, April 12, 2010

A top New Jersey official ordered an inquiry into why no Amber Alert was issued in the alleged abduction of Zara, a three-month-old infant by her father, who told police he tossed her into the Raritan River.

Acting Attorney General Paula Dow has ordered the state police to review the timeline in the case and New Jersey's criteria for Amber Alerts, which authorities said are not typically issued in abductions involving family members. Authorities said initial information in the case did not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert. By the time more was known and an alert was to be issued.

"Obviously, the system could have been activated a lot sooner, and the attorney general wants to look into this matter very closely," said an AG spokesman.

In New Jersey, the alerts are used when a child is believed to be in imminent danger, but generally not in family situations, including cases involving runaways and parents in a custody dispute, according to state police. Zara, is still listed as missing.

This is but one example for the presence of Code Amber Missing Persons Alerts.

Philly.com

Dial for H-E-L-P

Monday, April 5, 2010

The Congressional E-911 Caucus has introduced legislation to upgrade the country�s 911 technology, by passing �The Next Generation 911 Preservation Act of 2010.� Passage will provide grant funding for the nation�s 6,000 911 facilities.

State taxes on phone bills currently fund the 911 call centers which receive more than 650,000 emergency calls daily. The Next Generation 911Preservation Act provides a five year federal grant program to support state 911 services and upgrade the technology.

One persistent problem with mobile phones making assistance calls, was electronically identifying the location of the caller as there is with landlines. GPS LBS is doing much to alleviate that concern. Researchers predict the U.S. GPS LBS market will grow at an annual rate of 43.1 percent through 2010.

Unfortunately, the number of potential Alzheimer�s victims that will wander off and become lost will increase exponentially as the boomer generation grows older and will place significant demands on the system. A situation demanding a Code Amber Alertag.

Where Kidnappings Occur

Monday, March 29, 2010

A study conducted in 1999 by the National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Throwaway Children or NISMART, found that in over 70% of stranger kidnapping victims were taken from outdoor areas like parks and playgrounds, and 7% were taken from public buildings like shopping malls.

Of these cases, approximately 90% are committed by males who are between 20-40 years old. In these cases, the child is returned alive less than 60% of the time. 4% are never found.

Most child abductions are perpetrated by family members. While the chances of a stranger abducting one�s child are slim, those who do get abducted by strangers are often sexually abused and killed. Many other children are detained or sexually assaulted by strangers, acquaintances or family members. Providing reasonable supervision to children and teaching kids to be safe without subjecting them to paralyzing fear is the most difficult task of parents.

Abduction Usually Occurs Near the Child's Home

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The Department of Justice revealed that in 80% of abductions by strangers, the first contact occurred and/or the abduction itself occurred within a quarter mile of the child's home. This implies that children may be watched by their abductor prior to being taken.

Most victims are either forced or lured into the cars of the abductors. Never approaching a car should be a large focus of teaching safety to children.

The typical victim in child abductions resulting in murders was 11 years old, white females in middle class neighborhoods, just like Jaycee Dugard, who was kidnapped at age 11 and recently reunited with her family after 18 years in captivity. This is according to a 1997 survey sponsored by the Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention or OJJDP.

Most child custody violators do not consider their actions illegal or morally wrong

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Family abduction of children has become a serious concern in the United States. Coincident with the rapid rise in divorce and the increase in children born to unmarried parents, approximately 60 percent of all children spend time in a single-parent home A national incidence study revealed that in an unprecedented number of these single-parent families (354,000 in 1988), one parent took unilateral action to deprive the other parent of contact with their child. In almost half of these cases (163,200), the abducting parent intended to permanently alter custodial access by concealing the child or taking the child out of his or her home State or country.

Abducting parents are likely to have very young children (the mean age is 2�3). Such children are easier to transport and conceal, are unlikely to verbally protest, and may be unable to tell others their name or other identifying information. Older children who are taken or retained in violation of custody orders are usually those who are particularly vulnerable to influence or have colluded with the abducting parent.

Most abducting parents (except those characterized as paranoid delusional) are likely to have the support of a social network�family, friends, cultural communities, cult-like groups, or an underground dissident movement�that provides not only practical assistance (money, food, lodging) but also emotional and moral support to validate the abducting parent�s extralegal actions. Read the study: Family Abductors: Descriptive Profiles and Preventive Interventions

While much of our attention focuses on missing children, thousands of adults are reported missing each year.

Monday, March 15, 2010

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation inspired by a Connecticut man, who disappeared in 2004, to help families of missing adults.

The legislation is named after Billy Smolinski of Waterbury, who went missing on August 24, 2004 at the age of 31. Billy's family has experienced many obstacles in searching for their missing son, including the fact that federal law mandates law enforcement report missing children, but not adults or unidentified remains. While law enforcement can voluntarily report this information to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, a lack of resources and knowledge of the system often prevents them from doing so.

Unlike National Amber Alerts, Code Amber publishes real-time official law enforcement reports of missing persons in the US and Canada and maintains a online data base of those cases. While only a small percentage of Missing Persons Reports are actually criminal abductions, the anguish experienced by loved ones is unbearable.

The opportunity to become a watchful spotter is extended to everyone via the Free Code Amber Ticker and "Missing" App for smart phones. Going missing can happen to anyone, anytime, any where.

Eyes on the street broke historic abduction case

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

On May 22, 1927, aviator Charles Lindbergh, 25, flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean non-stop and landed in Paris, thereby inspiring a cult following unique in American history. The Lindbergh family lived quietly in central New Jersey. One evening, Charles Jr., their twenty-month-old baby, was stolen from his crib. The police were called and an intensive search for the kidnapper began. The New Jersey State Police, led by Colonel Norman Schwarzkopf, father of the Gulf War general, directed the search. The kidnapper contacted the family asking for payment of a $50,000 ransom.

Investigators recorded the serial numbers of the ransom money before the meeting. But the Lindbergh baby was not recovered. He was found dead on May 12, 1932, less than four miles from home. The case became an international sensation with massive media coverage continuing for years.

It was not until September 1934, when a vigilant gas station attendant received a 10-dollar bill that gave investigators a break in the case. When the attendant compared the bill to a police bulletin listing the serial numbers of the ransom money, it was a match. He noted the plate number of the vehicle reporting it to the police. It was learned that the car was registered to a Bruno Richard Hauptmann, 35, an illegal German immigrant who lived in the Bronx. Police immediately arrested Hauptmann. A search was conducted of his home where nearly $15,000 of the ransom money was found. Hauptmann was convicted of kidnapping and murder. He was executed at New Jersey State Prison in 1936.

Download the Code Amber Ticker and become a pair of �Eyes on the Street.�

Emergency care obstetricians need to know of pre-existing medical conditions as they can lead to obstetrical complications.

Friday, March 5, 2010

The primary concerns are the preexisting conditions of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and substance abuse. All of these conditions may adversely affect the developing fetus and therefore, may complicate the delivery of the fetus and compromise the health of the mother and child.

There are a significant number of problems that may be classified as Obstetrical Emergencies. These emergencies include, but are not limited to the following: abortion, (spontaneous, threatened, inevitable, incomplete, criminal, therapeutic and elective), trauma, ectopic pregnancy, pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, abnormal deliveries (breech, prolapsed cord, limb presentation, and multiple births), bleeding during any trimester, complications of labor and delivery (antepartum hemorrhage, abruptio placenta, placenta previa, uterine rupture, uterine inversion, toxemia of pregnancy, pulmonary embolism and post-partum hemorrhage).

OB/GYN must obtain appropriate history related to event, (gravidity, parity, length of gestation, estimated date of delivery, prior C-sections, prior obstetrical or gynecological complications, bleeding, pain, vaginal discharge, LMP), Past Medical History, Medications, Drug Allergies, and Substance abuse.

It is smarter to have a Code Amber Alertag and not need it, than to need it and have one.

Do I know you? Let me count the ways.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Finger prints, voice recognition, retinal scan, blood type, DNA markers, dental imagery, purchases, product serial numbers, account numbers, passwords, URLs, IP addresses and now your personal bar code define and identify you as the one and only you.

We don't have to ask if big brother is watching, but rather learn how and discover what advantages to us will access of our personal information by others provide and how to protect it from unauthorized access. As much as we love our traditions, our lifestyles are forever altered by emerging new technologies. We find ourselves using mobile smart phones for so much more than conversations. Besides the games, navigation, txting and music downloads, we retrieve comparative information, read reviews, make price comparisons, re-think our purchasing decisions and engage in wireless transactions while leaving GPS trackable footprints everywhere we go. We locate missing persons, find our friends and pay our bills with our phones. And in an emergency, when a prescription or an allergy can make a diagnostic difference in a medical treatment, our 3G cell phone can retrieve our Personal Health Records providing professionals with essential life and death information.

How will they be assured that we say we who we say we are? The QR Barcode... our own 2D personal product identification code will take care of that.

It is smarter to have a Code Amber Alertag and not need it, than to need it and have one.

The Importance of Maintaining your Personal Health Records

Wednesday, February 23, 2010

Within our brains, the hippocampus is responsible for recollections such as people, places and events. While our capacity to learn and remember is unlimited, stress can make us temporarily forget even obvious items. While science doesn�t have all the answers about memory, researchers have learned that the causes for short-term memory loss can be due to chemical secretions produced by the body to defend itself. Most memory failures will reverse themselves in a few days if the stress alleviated.

A personal health record (PHR) permits you to securely gather, store, manage and share your own and your family's health information - when you want, where you want, and with whom you choose. And in times of stress when remembering the vital information medical services professionals will need to provide informed treatment decisions may be a challenge, many have turned to Code Amber Alertag.

It is smarter to have a Code Amber Alertag and not need it, than to need it and have one.

The elderly may have an increased number of pre-existing conditions that are likely to influence the patient's response to trauma.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

In North America, one out of 5 trauma victims had one or more pre-existing medical conditions (PEMCs) which were more prevalent with advancing age. Moreover, these conditions adversely influenced treatment and recovery outcomes and as the numbers of PEMCs rose, the mortality increased. Furthermore, the effect of PEMCs on death was most marked in those patients who had a mild injury. Mortality doubled in the severely injured younger patients with the presence of a PEMC.

It is smarter to have a Code Amber Alertag and not need it, than to need it and have one.

Accidents Happen - Don't Become a Statistic

Sunday, January 17, 2010

More than 1,000 people visited emergency rooms in 2008 because they were distracted and accidently tripped, bumped or ran into something while talking or texting on their cellphone. That was twice the number from 2007, which had nearly doubled from 2006, according to a study conducted by Ohio State University (NYT).

There is a growing problem; DISTRACTION — A potentially injurious combination of a PERSON, with a MOBILE PHONE and an OBSTACLE like other people, the pole of a street sign, a toy left on the steps, a parked or even a moving vehicle.

“It’s the tip of the iceberg,” said Jack L. Nasar, a professor at Ohio State, noting that the number of mishaps will most likely increase as texting is rising sharply and devices like the iPhone have thousands of new, engaging applications.

However, certain iPhone and Android Apps reduce the likelihood that you will become an accident statistic. Check out GPS TRACKING. It will provide the precise location of one or all of those in your contact list and send a TXT MSG along with the location (LOCi) request – not only combining two tasks into one, but just in case you walk into an object larger than yourself, you’ll be able to alert friends or family of your location and the inconceivable happenstance.

By the way, if cell phone multi-tasking has become a habit, then you might also want to take a look at Code Amber's Alertag – A secure digital personal ID tag that will provide first responders to emergencies with the vital information needed to make an informed treatment assessment as well as who to call.

We think it’s a good idea to anticipate the unexpected.

Haiti: an inconceivable catastrophe has exposed the narrow crack in the earth's social crust between despair and hope.

Thursday, January 15, 2010

It is unimaginable that all the people, places and things in your life could disappear in an instant. But in Haiti, parents have lost their children. Children have lost their families. Survivors walk about aimlessly carrying remnants of their former lives. Tens of thousands are sleeping in the streets. Rescue teams look for the lost and those that lost their lives as a result of the cataclysmic quake that gave no warning.

It could happen here. It could happen to you. It has happened before. It will happen again. Be prepared. Protect your family from the inconceivable.

Americans have donated more than $8 million for Haiti relief via TXT message. The online donation system allows people to donate $10 at a time by texting HAITI to 90999. If you can, give.

"It's safer to have one and not need it, than to need it and not have it..." Visit Code Amber Alertag for more information.

www.codeamberalertag.com

IT'S INCONCEIVABLE, BUT ACCIDENTS DO HAPPEN

Thursday, January 14, 2010

AND THEY CAN HAPPEN TO THOSE YOU LOVE...

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) defines a "pre-existing" condition as "any medical condition that a person has before being enrolled in an insurance plan." There are an infinite number of pre-existing conditions which may be aggravated as a result of an accident injury, such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, pregnancy, diabetes, obesity and or depression.

Here's what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Emergency Physicians say you need to know about emergency treatment for accident victims with preexisting conditions:

The physical responses seen in younger patients to "shock" incurred from an accident may not be seen in the older patients due to medications and preexisting conditions.

Pain, which can be manifested as delirium in older adults, should be optimally managed by balancing the need for relief and functional improvement with the potential for adverse events.

A complete medication history, including use of prescription and non-prescription medications (herbal supplements, etc.), should be obtained and assessed for possible adverse effects and interactions. Commonly prescribed medications in older adults (e.g., beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers) can mask or blunt the normal physiologic response to injury and stress or, in some cases (e.g., warfarin), may exacerbate an individual's injuries.

Delirium is not uncommon, and it may be due to medications (including prescription and non-prescription), infections (e.g., pneumonia, urosepsis), or many other medical conditions, including: acute blood loss, electrolyte imbalance, end organ failure, hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia, hypoxia, arrhythmias, neurological conditions, dehydration, severe pain, immobility, sleep deprivation, fecal impaction, or urinary retention. During initial assessment evaluation, patients with delirium should be assumed to have a reversible etiology until it is proven otherwise. Unrecognized dementia is a risk factor for post-operative delirium.

Decreased hearing and visual impairment are common in older adults. These conditions need to be evaluated as contributing factors in patients with altered consciousness or cognitive change.

Family members should be queried regarding existing advanced directives, and health professionals should assist family members in understanding how these directives relate to the specifics of medical care.

"It's safer to have one and not need it, than to need it and not have it..." Visit Code Amber Alertag for more information.

www.codeamberalertag.com

It's far smarter to have a Code Amber Alertag and not need it than to need it and not have it...

Saturday, January 2, 2010

The College Of Integrative Medical Sciences: People's lives often depend on the quick reaction and competent care of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics. Incidents as varied as automobile accidents, heart attacks, slips and falls, childbirth, blunt and penetrating wounds all require immediate medical attention. EMTs and paramedics provide this vital service as they care for and transport the sick or injured to a medical facility.

EMTs and paramedics are typically dispatched to emergency scenes, where they often work with police. fire fighters and other first responders. Once they arrive, EMTs and paramedics assess the nature of the patient's condition while trying to determine whether the patient has any pre-existing medical conditions.

"It's safer to have one and not need it, than to need it and not have it..." Visit Code Amber Alertag for more information.

www.codeamberalertag.com

Code Amber Alertag knows the answers to the "who, what and when"

Monday, December 28, 2009

While GPS tracking can answer the "where" question, the Code Amber Alertag knows the answers to the "who, what and when" questions that first responders to medical emergencies need to know to provide informed treatment. Directional GPS has saved the lives of thousands by guiding emergency services to the precise location of people and pets in need of immediate medical attention. Getting there quickly however, may just be the first of many life and death decisions that need to considered especially if you, like one in four other Americans, have a chronic condition or a serious allergy. That's why everyone needs a Code Amber Alertag.

www.codeamberalertag.com

Inconceivable

Wednesday, December 09, 2009 5:57 AM

At this very moment, becoming a victim of a terrorist attack, seeking shelter from a tornado or calling 911 for emergency medical attention it totally inconceivable. Yet for millions, the inconceivable calamity becomes a startling realty every day.

There is no warning for a child suffering a head injury from a bicycle fall, a dad falling from a ladder cleaning a gutter, grandma haivng a heart attack, an ammonia spill across the street from the church, or an Alzheimer's victim wandering.

Ask yourself, when it happens will you have the presence of mind to gather the personal identification information, prescriptions, medical history, physician contacts and phone numbers of loved ones and communicate with each the information they need? The answer is self evident, but the question remains; "how can I prepare myself and my family for the improbable?

www.codeamberalertag.com