Local doctor creates ‘Life Locket’ to save lives

A local doctor has created a way to save lives, even if the patient isn’t under his care, all with the use of technology.

Dr. David Wyatt has been caring for patients for 46 years and created the Life Locket two years ago.

“I think all of us at some point want to give back way more than we can just one patient at a time,” he said.

He knows how medical errors can mean life or death. In fact, nearly 200,000 people a year die in the hospital because of a medical mistake.

Wyatt has found a way to change that, by giving fellow doctors the information they need during an emergency, even if the patient can’t.

“One of the scariest things for the doctor is for a person to come in who’s unconscious or semi-unconscious and they have some very serious medical problems,” he explained. “You have no idea how old they are, you have no idea what medications they’re taking, do they have diabetes, are they allergic to aspirin? There are so many things that we need to know to safely be able to care for somebody.”

The Life Locket is a USB drive that can be plugged into a computer. A Life Locket window will pop up on the screen and the user can enter in their own medical information.

There are sections for medications and emergency contacts that is stored on a bracelet or keychain.

“It’s certainly comforting to know I have this,” said Jeffrey Kroll, who wears a Life Locket.

Kroll has high blood pressure. He knows if he has an emergency, timing is everything.

“That golden hour is being eaten up. And especially with stroke, there are things they can do now that can minimize the stroke damage to the brain,” said Kroll.

“The sooner these things happen, the better. So, this is just the amount of data that the doctors need to know what correct decisions to make and I’m sure it will save a lot of lives,” said Wyatt.

The bracelets or keychains cost around $30 each, but Wyatt isn’t in it for the money. He even sells the Life Lockets to first responders for about what it costs him to make.

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