By Pat Ingelse, Project Manager and Wellness Coordinator

Pat Ingelse

The news recently reported lightning strikes taking out three houses in our part of the world! So the following information is very timely.

If your home were destroyed in a fire or similar disaster, how easily could you retrieve important documents — such as insurance papers, your driver’s license, passports, and wills? A very simple and inexpensive solution is to scan these documents and store them on a flash drive.

Flash drives (also called thumb drives or memory sticks) can be purchased at an office supply store for minimal cost. Use a marker or sticker to label the drive “ICE,” which means “In Case of Emergency.” Scan in the documents in question, and save them to the drive.

Things to put on the drive include:

• Driver’s license or other state-issued IDs
• Social Security card
• Veteran/discharge papers
• Medicinal information (current prescriptions/dosages)
• Doctor information
• Insurance information (home and health coverage)
• Current photos of family members
• Emergency contact list with addresses and phone numbers

And a few key things to remember:

• Store the flash drive in a small, sealed plastic bag to prevent damage from the elements.
• Keep flash drives wherever you think they’ll remain safe and available in an emergency (such as your desk at work).
• Keep the stored information up to date — set an annual reminder to check it.
• Password-protect the drive.

A simple solution like this can save you a great deal of time and frustration in an emergency.