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Commissioner Carney and community paramedics roll out File of Life packets and therapy‑dog program
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Summary
Commissioner Kim Carney recounted a family medical emergency and introduced the File of Life initiative; Flagler County community paramedics described the magnetic File of Life packet, a clear door/window sticker for first-responder recognition, distribution plans (kits free, delivery available) and a therapy-dog program to support responder wellbeing.
Commissioner Kim Carney opened with a personal account of her mother's final illness and said the county's File of Life initiative grew from that experience.
"I'm Kim Carney, Flagler County Board of County Commissioners District 3," Carney said, and described how gaps in communication and documentation during an emergency led her to work with county fire-rescue staff to distribute File of Life packets to residents.
County community paramedics explained the packet and how it helps first responders. The paramedics said the File of Life is a magnetic packet kept on a refrigerator that contains a health profile and — if applicable — a physician-signed DNR (do-not-resuscitate) form. Paramedics said the packet is paired with a clear sticker residents place on a front door or nearby window so responders can quickly locate the information.
One community paramedic emphasized the operational limits of a standard living will for first responders: "The living will doesn't work for us. The living will does not work for us," he said, underscoring that first responders rely on a physician-signed DNR form to honor patients' wishes in the field.
Presenters also described a therapy-dog program (the dog named Taco) used by Fire Rescue to help crews with PTSD and stressful calls.
Practical details: presenters said the kits and informational rack cards are free, that staff will deliver packets to residents on request, and they provided a phone contact and a county website for requesting a kit. Presenters invited residents to take kits and asked them to include a photocopy (not the original) of prepaid funeral instructions inside the packet so responders can honor those arrangements.
