09/11/2026
Sharing from another page, but very good information.
If you ever have to call 911, there are a few really simple things you can do before we get there that can make everything go a whole lot smoother.
And one of the biggest ones takes about two seconds:
Unlock the front door.
Obviously, only if you're able to. But you'd be surprised how often we get there and someone inside is yelling for us to come in while we're trying to figure out how to actually get through the door.
A few other things that help:
Put the dogs away.
It's not that we're scared of your dog. It's just a whole lot easier to put someone on a cardiac monitor, start an IV, move equipment around, or get someone onto a stretcher without a dog trying to figure out who all these strangers are in their house.
Turn the lights on in the room we're going to be working in.
We need to be able to see what we're doing. š
And turn the TV off.
That one sounds insignificant until we're trying to listen to lung sounds, ask questions, hear our equipment, and talk to you while the TV is going six feet away.
If it's easy to get to, have the patient's ID and insurance card ready.
Obviously none of that takes priority over taking care of someone who's seriously sick. But we still have to collect that information, and on routine calls sometimes finding a wallet or insurance card turns into a whole process.
If the driveway is packed and someone can safely move a car before we get there, that helps too.
Being able to roll the stretcher straight up a smooth concrete driveway is a lot easier and safer than trying to get it through the yard, over curbs, or around whatever else is in the way.
And please be honest with us.
Medical history, medications, drugs, alcohol, what happened before we got there...whatever it is.
We're not there to judge you.
Something you think is embarrassing or doesn't matter might actually change what we think is going on or how we take care of you.
Here's another one people may not think about:
If the patient can answer our questions, let them answer.
Family members can be incredibly helpful, and sometimes they're the only people who can give us the information we need.
But if I ask the patient a question and someone else answers every single time, I'm losing part of my assessment.
I'm not just listening to WHAT the patient says. I'm also paying attention to whether they understand the question, whether they're confused, how they're speaking, what they remember, and whether their answers make sense.
And finally...
Please don't clean the house for us. š
Seriously. We do not care.
People apologize to us all the time because there are dishes in the sink, laundry on the couch, toys everywhere, or the house isn't picked up.
You called 911.
Nobody walking through that door is grading your housekeeping.
Leave the dishes where they are. Put the dog in another room, turn the lights on, unlock the door, and let us worry about the rest.
Those little things really can make it easier for us to focus on the reason you called us in the first place:
Taking care of you. -source unknown
