What to Tell Your Trusted Contact: The Emergency Information Checklist for People Living Alone

safety emergency-planning

Your safety partner needs more than your phone number. Here's exactly what to share — and why it could save your life.

You've taken the first step. You've asked someone — a friend, a sibling, a neighbor, an adult child — to be your trusted contact. The person who'll check on you if something goes wrong. The person Olkano will alert if you miss a check-in.

But what have you actually told them?

If the answer is "my name and phone number," you're not alone. Most people stop there. And in an emergency, that's not nearly enough. Your trusted contact may need to talk to paramedics, get into your home, explain your medical history to a hospital, or take care of your dog. A phone number won't help with any of that.

This post is a practical, section-by-section guide to the information your safety partner needs. It takes about 20 minutes to put together — and it could be the most important 20 minutes you spend this year.

Why This Matters More Than You Think

When someone who lives alone has a medical emergency, time is the critical factor. Research published in the European Review of Aging and Physical Activity found that nearly 78% of adults aged 65 and older who fall need help getting up from the floor. Almost half of all falls happen when the person is alone. On average, people wait nine to twenty minutes for help — but in many cases, they remain on the ground for over an hour before anyone even knows something is wrong.

Medical professionals call this a "long lie," and the consequences escalate fast: dehydration, hypothermia, pressure injuries, rhabdomyolysis, and in severe cases, death. One study found that among older adults admitted to hospital after a non-injury fall, a fifth had been on the floor for more than an hour — and half of those died within six months from related complications.

These aren't just statistics about older adults. Anyone who lives alone — a thirty-year-old remote worker, a solo traveler, a recently divorced parent — faces the same fundamental problem: if something happens, who will know? And when they know, will they have the information they need to act?

That's the gap your trusted contact fills. But only if they're prepared.

The Essentials: Contact and Identity

Start with the basics — but be thorough. Your trusted contact should have:

Your full legal name as it appears on your ID. In an emergency, hospitals and authorities need exact names, not nicknames.

Your date of birth. First responders use this to confirm identity and pull medical records.

Your home address — including flat or apartment number, building entry codes, and floor. It sounds obvious, but your trusted contact may need to direct emergency services to your exact door. If you live in a large building, include any details that help someone find you: which entrance, which stairwell, which buzzer.

Multiple ways to reach you. Mobile number, home landline if you have one, email, and any messaging apps you use regularly. If your trusted contact can't get through on one channel, they need alternatives.

A recent photo of you. If your trusted contact ever needs to file a welfare check with police, or if emergency services are looking for you, a current photo speeds things up considerably.

Olkano is a free daily check-in app that alerts your trusted contacts if you miss a check-in. You can share your profile and emergency details directly with the people you trust. Learn more about how Olkano works.

Access: How to Get to You

This is the section most people forget entirely — and it may be the most important one. If your trusted contact gets an alert that you're not responding, they need to reach you physically. That means they need:

A spare key or your door code. Whether that's a physical key in their possession, a key left with a neighbor, or a code for a smart lock. Make sure your contact knows how to get in, not just where you live.

Your alarm system code, if you have one. Nothing slows down a rescue like a blaring alarm that nobody can disable.

Building-specific access information. In apartment buildings, this might mean a gate code, a concierge's phone number, or a key fob arrangement. In gated communities, your contact may need to be pre-authorized as a visitor.

Your landlord or building manager's contact details, in case your trusted contact needs help with access in a situation they haven't anticipated.

If you've moved recently, or if you've changed your locks, update this information immediately. Outdated access details in an emergency waste precious time.

Medical Information: What Paramedics Need to Know

When you can't speak for yourself, your trusted contact becomes your voice. The CDC's In Case of Emergency (ICE) programme was created in response to a striking gap: an estimated 1.6 million emergency room patients per year in the United States could not provide their own contact information because they were incapacitated. The programme encourages people to share key medical details with a designated contact who can relay them when it matters.

Here's what your safety partner should know:

Your primary care doctor — name, practice, and phone number. In countries with different healthcare systems, this might be your GP (UK), your médecin traitant (France), or your family physician.

Your preferred hospital or clinic, if you have one. Paramedics and ambulance crews will sometimes ask — especially when multiple facilities are nearby.

Any current medications — drug names, dosages, and what they're for. This isn't just helpful; it can be life-saving. Drug interactions are a real risk, and emergency doctors make better decisions when they know what's already in your system. Include over-the-counter supplements and herbal remedies, too — they can interact with prescription medications.

Known allergies, especially to medications, anaesthesia, latex, or foods. If you have no known allergies, tell your contact that explicitly so they don't have to guess.

Chronic conditions or ongoing treatments. Diabetes, heart conditions, epilepsy, asthma, kidney disease, blood clotting disorders — anything that would change how a medical team treats you.

Blood type, if you know it.

Health insurance details. In the US, that means your insurance provider, policy number, and group number. In Europe, your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or national health service number. In other countries, whatever equivalent documentation is needed for hospital admission.

A Note on Advance Directives

If you've prepared any legal documents related to your medical care — a living will, a health care power of attorney, a POLST/MOLST form (or their equivalents outside the US) — your trusted contact should know these documents exist, what they say, and where to find them. The National Institute on Aging recommends giving copies to your health care proxy, your doctors, and anyone who might need to advocate for you in a crisis.

This is especially important if you live alone. Without a partner or housemate present when paramedics arrive, these documents might not be found in time unless someone knows where they are.

Want to set up your own daily check-in routine? Olkano makes it simple — one notification, one tap, and your trusted contacts know you're okay. Download Olkano free.

Your Daily Routine: What "Normal" Looks Like

This is something unique to check-in systems, and it's what makes the difference between a safety partner and a generic emergency contact listed on a form.

Your trusted contact should have a basic understanding of your daily patterns:

What time you typically wake up and go to bed. If they get an alert at 7am that you missed your check-in but they know you never wake before 9, the context changes.

Your general weekday schedule. Do you work from home? Leave for the office at 8? Go to a gym class on Thursdays? This isn't about surveillance — it's about giving your contact the context to interpret a missed check-in intelligently.

Your check-in time and what to do if you don't respond. This is critical. Spell it out: "If I haven't responded to my Olkano check-in and you can't reach me by phone after 30 minutes, call my neighbor María at [number]. If she can't check on me, call [local emergency number]."

Whether you travel regularly, and how you'll notify your contact when your routine changes. A missed check-in while you're on a flight is very different from a missed check-in on a Tuesday morning at home.

The goal isn't to hand over your calendar. It's to give your safety partner enough context to make a good decision when they get an alert.

An Escalation Plan: What to Do, Step by Step

Don't leave your trusted contact guessing about what to do. Write it down. A simple escalation plan might look like this:

Step 1: Try to reach you by phone and text.

Step 2: If no response within 20–30 minutes, call a nearby contact (neighbor, friend, colleague) who can check on you in person.

Step 3: If no one can reach you or get to your home, call emergency services and request a welfare check. In the US, that's 911. In the UK, 999 or 101 for non-emergency police. In most of Europe, 112. In Japan, 110 (police) or 119 (ambulance).

Step 4: Contact your next-of-kin or other family members.

Write down every relevant phone number in this chain. Your trusted contact shouldn't have to search for anything in an emergency.

Nearby Contacts: Your Local Safety Net

Your trusted contact may live in another city — or another country. That's fine, but they need a local link. Give them:

A neighbor's name and phone number — someone who lives close enough to knock on your door within minutes.

Your workplace or a colleague's contact, if applicable. If you don't show up for work and no one has heard from you, a colleague can confirm whether you made it in.

A nearby friend or community contact. This could be someone from your building, your gym, your religious community, or any regular group. Someone who would notice if you stopped showing up.

Local emergency services non-emergency numbers, for requesting welfare checks without calling the main emergency line.

Pet Information: Don't Forget the Animals

If you have pets, your trusted contact needs to know:

What animals you have, where they are, and their feeding schedule. If you're taken to hospital, your pets can't wait for you to get home to eat.

Your vet's name and phone number, including any after-hours emergency vet.

Who to call to care for your pets if you're unable to come home for a day or more. Name a specific person who has agreed to this — don't leave it vague.

Any medications or special needs your pet has. Insulin-dependent cats, dogs on anti-seizure medication, animals with dietary restrictions — write it all down.

If you live alone with a pet, you might also consider keeping a note visible near your front door (on the fridge, by the entrance) indicating that animals are inside. Some pet owners keep a wallet card or key tag for this purpose, so that first responders know an animal may need attention.

Digital Accounts and Practical Matters

Depending on your situation, there may be a few more things worth sharing:

Your phone passcode or lock screen emergency info. Both iPhone (Medical ID) and Android (Emergency Information) let you display medical details and emergency contacts without unlocking. If you haven't set this up, do it today — it's free, built into your phone, and it takes five minutes.

Location of important documents. Passport, insurance policies, property deeds, your will. Your trusted contact doesn't need access to all of these, but they should know where they are in case a family member needs them.

Utility provider or landlord contacts, in case there's a gas leak, flood, or other hazard at your home while you're incapacitated.

How to Share All of This

You've now got a substantial list of information. Here's how to make it usable:

Write it down. A shared document — a Google Doc, a note in a shared app, even a printed sheet — is better than a conversation that gets half-remembered. Keep it simple, organized, and dated.

Review it at least once a year, or whenever something significant changes: new medication, new address, new doctor, new pet. Set a reminder. Research from the medical alert industry consistently finds that outdated contact details are one of the most common failure points in emergency systems.

Tell your contact that you've listed them. This sounds obvious, but it's surprisingly often skipped. Your trusted contact should know they've been designated, understand what's expected of them, and have actually read the information you've given them. An emergency is not the time for them to discover their role.

Have more than one trusted contact if possible. People travel, their phones die, life happens. A backup means there's always someone in the loop. Olkano lets you add multiple trusted contacts for exactly this reason.

It Takes Twenty Minutes. It Could Save Your Life.

Putting this together isn't complicated. It doesn't require a lawyer or special tools. It's a single document with your essential information, shared with someone you trust.

A study on emergency preparedness among older adults found that people who live alone were significantly less likely to have discussed emergency plans with family or friends compared to those who live with others. The researchers described this as one of the clearest modifiable risk factors for poor outcomes — not because these people don't care, but because when you live alone, there's no daily prompt to think about it.

This checklist is that prompt. Fill it in. Share it. And then get on with your life — knowing that if something goes wrong, the people who care about you will have exactly what they need.

Start checking in today. Olkano is a free daily check-in app for people who live alone. Set your check-in time, add your trusted contacts, and know that someone always has your back. Get Olkano on Google Play.

Sources:

Kubitza, J. et al. "Concept of the term long lie: a scoping review." European Review of Aging and Physical Activity, 2023.
Fleming, J. and Brayne, C. "Inability to get up after falling, subsequent time on floor, and summoning help." BMJ, 2008.
Vellas, B. et al. "Prospective study of restriction of activity in old people after falls." Age and Ageing, 1997.
CDC In Case of Emergency (ICE) programme — stacks.cdc.gov
National Institute on Aging. "Advance Care Planning: Advance Directives for Health Care."
Al-Rousan, T. et al. "Predictors of Emergency Preparedness among Older Adults in the United States." PMC, 2020.
Mayo Clinic. "Emergency health information: Keep your personal and family records within reach."
Tinetti, M.E. et al. "Predictors and Prognosis of Inability to Get Up After Falls Among Elderly Persons." JAMA, 1993.