Medical emergencies

• Develop an emergency protocol for your trip and be sure everyone is aware of it.

• Each person should carry a small card with his or her name, the faculty leaders’ phone numbers, the emergency number for the country, and the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all hotels that will be used. If the person is injured or passes out, someone will be able to find the card in the wallet or purse. It has been suggested that a red card or a white card with red edges makes this more apparent to emergency workers.

• Each student and faculty member should have health coverage while on the trip.

• Emergency information for each student and faculty leader should be kept with the group at all times. If your phone or computer will depend on internet service to access the material, you need to keep paper copies. The emergency information should include name, emergency contact information, allergies, current medications, special conditions, and other pertinent information.

• If a student is injured or becomes seriously ill, one faculty member will need to stay with him or her at the hospital.

• A first aid kit should be included on all outings.

• Know the emergency phone numbers in all cities and have the students make note of them. The US number of 911 is not universal.