Volume 17, No. 1, Winter 2009	Previous Issues Subscribe to AT Messenger Download PDF Viewer
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It’s a SNAP to Prepare for an Emergency

Beth Appenzeller MacDonald
Special Needs Alert Program (SNAP) Coordinator
Office of Emergency Medical Services

Imagine:

• Your child has a medical emergency: SNAP is there for you
• You are in a vehicle crash and separated from your child: SNAP is there for you
• Your family must evacuate before a storm: SNAP is there for you

The Special Needs Alert Program (SNAP) is designed to connect families with children ages 0-21 who have special health care needs to their local emergency medical services. This includes county paramedics and local fire department basic life support services. The service is voluntary and free of charge. Families can enroll in the program at any time, and all children with special emergency care needs—tracheotomies, IV therapy, feeding tubes, autism, brain injury, low birth weight, and premature babies—are eligible.

Parents interested in enrolling their child in SNAP may call Delaware Emergency Medical Services for Children at 302-744-5415. SNAP materials are also available on the web in English and Spanish at http://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dph/ems/emscsnap.html or http://www.familyvoices.org/states.php?state=DE. Click the forms link under the “Materials” heading. Forms to complete include:

• Enrollment Form
• Home Visit Information (or Home Information) Form
• Emergency Information Form, developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, must be completed and signed by the child’s physician.
• Consent Form

The completed forms must be sent to the Office of EMS; the address is listed at the bottom of the enrollment form. Once the information is in the system, the child’s medical information is given to the 911 dispatch center, the county-based paramedic service, and the local fire company. Fire companies secure the information in several ways—secured notebooks or on secure laptops—for quick reference en route to a 911 call at the child’s address.

As a parent of a child with special needs, I provide outreach to families, fire companies, physician’s offices, schools, child care centers, and others. Once you have completed the SNAP enrollment process, it is important to know where to keep your SNAP information.

Here is where I suggest:

• At home, please keep a copy on your refrigerator. Emergency personnel will often look there for special health information.
• At the daycare, after-school care, or a day program, please provide a copy of the Emergency Information Form and your contact information to the individual(s) who provides your child’s day-to-day care.
• In school, provide a copy of the Emergency Information Form and a note stating that your child is enrolled in the SNAP Program to the school nurse.
• With relatives, share SNAP information with relatives who provide care for your child.
• In your personal vehicles, you may want to keep a copy of SNAP information on your child’s specialized safety seat, and a copy in the glove compartment.
• On the school bus or public transportation, your child’s SNAP information can be kept in your child’s book bag, on their wheelchair, or seating device. You may also want keep a copy in his or her wallet or purse.

SNAP is currently funded by a grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, through the State of Delaware’s Public Health Preparedness Program in partnership with Easter Seals, Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The Program was implemented in July 2004. Currently there are 140 children enrolled throughout the state. The program was evaluated and deemed effective according to surveys by the University of Delaware's Center for Disabilities Studies in 2006.

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