First Aid & CPR iPhone app Saves a Life During the Haiti Disaster

Many of us are aware of telehealth and telemedicine applications, but self-treatment is not usually a part of the equation. Macworld reported a story about a man, Dan Wooley, who successfully administered first aid to himself for treatment of a head wound and compound fracture of his leg using the iPhone app Pocket First Aid & CPR (http://jive.me/firstaid/) powered by Jive Media. Wooley, who worked for Compassion International, was in Haiti making a movie about poverty.

According to the story (http://www.macworld.com/article/145842/2010/01/pocketfirstaid.html), Wooley was trapped in an elevator shaft for 65 hours after the earthquake struck. He used the instructions on the app to bandage his wounds and stop bleeding. He used the app instructions that warned him not to fall asleep if he was going into shock and set the alarm to ring every 20 minutes.

The content for Pocket First Aid & CPR is from the American Heart Association. According to the Jive Media web site, the app includes:

• Up-to-date emergency information 
• First aid procedures
• First aid checklist
• A modified personal health record that allows the user to input their medical and insurance information

The American Heart Association First Aid app costs $3.99.  There are several other First Aid apps at the iPhone store.The WebMD First Aid app is free. There are First Aid apps for animals available, too!

I am amazed that with all of the devastation, that the cell towers were still operational. It is clear that cell phones are a mainstay of immediate communication after a disaster occurs.  Perhaps this type of story will encourage Apple and cell phone manufacturers to work on battery life issues.