Sometimes life imitates art. Here is an example. Recently I wrote a blog that mentioned the emergency room at Riverside Methodist Hospital. I'm also writing an article about Riverside for something else. This morning I was at Riverside Methodist Hospital's emergency room on an unplanned visit. Not my personal emergency but a family member's. That turned out fine and in the process I found out a few things worth sharing that made this emergency room visit run smoothly.

If you are taking medication, write down what you're taking and what the dosage is on a 3 X 5 card. Have that with you in a wallet or a purse at all times. This makes it easier for the ER in-take person. Instead of you having to recall everything, hand him or her the card and he or she can easily put in the data. Also, have the name of your primary care physician written down. These are things asked for when you visit an emergency room. If you have this written down, the person who is with you, even if he or she is family won't have to worry about this information. A lot of times who knows this stuff anyway. This was the case in my situation which meant I didn't really have to do too much but stand around and look alert which is a good thing. I would have had no idea if asked.

This got me thinking that this information wouldn't be bad to have on a 3 X 5 card to send with my son and daughter when they go over to a friend's house in case there is an emergency and I can't be reached. It's also not bad to have the information written on a card that I can grab it if I have to go out the door quickly-that way if there is a really dramatic scene like on the TV show ER the information is readily available and not reliant on my ability to think clearly. I just searched Children's Hospital website to see what their recommended list of needed information contains. Here's the rundown: list of vitamins and supplements, medication, insurance card and immunization record. This website also has a printable form if you want to have it filled out and ready to bring if you ever need to.

Here are a couple more tips from Riverside Methodist Hospital's website. They recommend that you leave valuables and credit cards at home. Also, when visting a patient remember to wash your hands before and after visiting the hospital to cut down on the spread of illness to you and to someone else.

I did not see any chests getting cracked open, mayhem or bedlam or people mumbling to themselves. There were no shoot outs or medical personnel smootching anywhere, so maybe art does not imitate life all that much--thank heavens.