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Paoli Hospital Gets 'Yellow Dot' Program Rolling In Chester County, Pa.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The trauma center at Paoli Hospital is the first in Pennsylvania to participate in an expanding program aimed at getting vital information into the hands of first responders to auto accidents.

Participants in the "Yellow Dot Program" put a yellow sticker on the back driver's side window, which tells first responders that there's a yellow folder in the glove compartment with a photo ID, medical information, and a list of medications.

Paoli Hospital president Barbara Tachovsky says it makes sense for Chester County's only trauma center to give paramedics a tool to cut through the chaos while trying to help car accident victims.

"Very often at the scene of an accident it's difficult to identify the patient and find the wallet or the purse, much less any even minimal medical information," she tells KYW Newsradio.

But getting that information is vital during the so-called "golden hour," the first 60 minutes of emergency treatment, which can determine whether someone lives or dies.

It's free to participate in the Yellow Dot Program; just call 484-565-8328.  Tachovsky says the hospital is hoping to get 2,500 people enrolled.

Reported by Molly Daly, KYW Newsradio 1060

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