Video about this project:  https://youtu.be/YuBU69CUM64

The Oklahoman - March 27, 2013

MOORE — Pill bottles were popping at the Brand Senior Center.

And not for the usual reasons.

About 25 seniors opened large orange pill bottles, known as Vials of Life.

Each bottle contained a refrigerator magnet and a form on which the vial's owner can list medical conditions, allergies, emergency contacts and insurance information.

The vials, provided by volunteers with Norman Regional Health System, are free to the public and allow users to store medical information, history and contacts in one location.

Girl Scout Cadet Mikayla Thompson, 13, of Troop 798 in Moore, presented the vials to the seniors as part of a Girl Scout project that will allow her to receive the Silver Award, the highest award a Girl Scout in her league can achieve.

“Start by putting your name on the vial and filling out the medical information on the form provided inside the vial,” Mikayla said. “Put the magnet on your refrigerator door and store the vile inside your refrigerator on the top shelf.”

No more searching

In the event of an emergency, paramedics will see the magnet on the refrigerator door and know the medical information is inside the refrigerator, Mikayla said.

Some paramedics have even begun looking for the magnet first, she said.

“I've wanted to do this ever since my grandma was admitted to the hospital due to heart problems. I remember how long it took us to find her medical information,” Mikayla said.

The Scout explained how she and her mother, Amy Thompson, scavenged Mikayla's grandmother's home after the two found her suffering from a seizure last Mother's Day.

I'm convinced that had she had this vial that day, we would have gotten her treatment at least 20 minutes earlier. We were looking for everything — her doctor's number, her medicine, her insurance card. Everything you shouldn't be doing at the last minute,” Amy Thompson said.“In an emergency, 20 minutes can make a big difference.”

Sharing a solution

Mikayla was introduced to the Vial for Life program when she went with her grandmother to the hospital.

It was a pill bottle and a solution, Mikayla said, that prompted a cause.

On Friday, Mikayla and her mother delivered about 250 Vials of Life to Moore's Brand Senior Center.

“I like this because I live alone,” said Mary C. Frye, 80, who visits the center often.

“I have two grown sons who check in on me, and if there was an emergency, I'd like them to know what medication I take.”

Frye takes only two medications regularly — an antacid and a drug used to regulate blood pressure and prevent a heart attack.

“Not bad for an 80-year-old,” Frye said with a laugh.

“Some people our age are as healthy as a horse, and others you never know. In either case, it's good to know what you have and to have something like this to keep it all together.”