gary north recently mentioned a website and product called HOSPITAL IN A BOX. but the website is now gone (there were only a few hundred units left), and i'd like to find out more information about it, or any 'products' that contain extensive emergency/medical aid supplies appropriately packaged.

i would have jumped on this but i was moving and was offline for a week. damn!

-- lou (lanny1@ix.netcom.com), August 31, 1999

Answers

I bought one several months ago. I have the phone number of the company that builds/selss them. Email me at the above address (put "hospital" in the subject line) and I'll send you their number.

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), August 31, 1999.

From: Y2K, ` la Carte by Dancr near Monterey, California

The URL I had for such a company also went south. A commonly available alternative is a product called Adventure Medical, which carries kits of varying sizes. Another possibility is to visit the safety companies which cater to businesses in your area. They sell medicine cabinets. Do keep in mind something that you will run into that all of these kits do not take into account. A concept called repititions. These kits assume that you use supplies for one incidence, enough to get the victim to the emergency ward. If there is no transport, you'll have to supply the "repititions." Also, you won't be able to go to the store the next day to restock yourself back to ready mode.

In the end, I decided to make my own, because I already had a good start. I'm not done, yet, though.

-- Dancr (addy.available@my.webpage.neener.autospammers--regrets.greenspun), August 31, 1999.

Dancr,

Awesome list, thank you! I've been looking for a checklist this thorough for awhile now.

-- PH (ag3@interlog.com), August 31, 1999.

Here's the link that worked for me this morning:

Hospital in a Box

It seems pricy. Not a lot of different things, a lot of the same thing. Two cases of Ace bandages, for example. Think I'll try to make my own if I can buy things like the anesthetics.

-- Gypsy (GypsiGold@aol.com), August 31, 1999.

The kit has some things that are probably hard to find in most drug stores. I tried to find some bandage shears, and nobody seemed to handle them.

The price is really high. Betadine is expensive, but not *that* expensive. If you put together your own, you can do it for much less than what they are charging.

A few ideas. Get vetwrap from your farm store. It is elastic gauze that sticks to itself. Great stuff, and fairly cheap in the horse section. You can't reuse it, so get plenty. It's great for fingers and joints.

Cheaper than Dirt has medical supplies (GI surplus) at pretty good prices. You can get a surgical kit there; 1" gauze for about 3$ per doz. Wally world has a generic Benedryl product for under $2. (tablets) Get extra, as they can be used to treat allergic reactions to penicillin. CTD also has suture sets pretty cheap (but really, not any cheaper than dirt).

First aid supplies will literally be life savers in a situation which prevents our customary easy access to medical care.

gene

-- gene (ekbaker@essex1.com), August 31, 1999.

Correct, there is a LOT of repetition. Their reasoning for that is for the kit to be useful over an EXTENDED period without resupply.

Also, when you get part 2 of the kit (shipped seperately), it becomes more cost-effective. They may not be ALLOWED to ship part 2 anymore. Ask them.

Also there is complete first-aid documentaion and a video tape included. The kit weighs nearly 40 lbs, and is in a 2'x2'x18" container. You really need to see it to believe it.

Supplies are included for a 1) burn tray, 2) opthalmic injury tray, 3) surgical tray, 4) shock tray. (There are more, I just don't remember them all. A doctor designed this kit and specified what supplies are included.

I added antibiotics and percocet, along witha blow-up leg splint, and I feel VERY ready for any first aid requirements.

Just an FYI...

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), September 01, 1999.

Thanks for the info. Personally I have already been accumulating most of the supplies listed through farm supplies, Moore Medical (emergency med. providers to EMT's, etc.) and the like. I would suspect that my total cost will be somewhere around $300-400 instead of the $1000. price tag. I already purchased the 17th edition of the Merck Manual and plan to purchase Ditch Medicine. I guess you do what you have to do when you don't have many extra $.

Good luck!

-- Kristi (securx@cs.com), September 01, 1999.

My cost was $495. I don't mind paying a little extra for the professional version. The "Scary Gary" version is $750 now, I think.

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), September 02, 1999.

Bandage scissors can be obtained at a medical supply store or a nursing uniform store.

-- Jo Ann (MaJo@Michiana.com), September 06, 1999.