Our Story
When accidents or sudden illness occur, anyone can find himself in need of emergency care.  Each year in the United States, approximately one million people end up in the emergency room unconscious or physically unable to make medical decisions.

That's exactly what happened to Elaine Sullivan. A very active 71 year old woman, Elaine was living on her own, when she fell at home and was taken to the hospital. Because of her injuries, she was unable to communicate, speak or give informed consent for her own care. Seven days later, after some of the most unbelievable negligence medical professionals have ever seen, she died. Despite having her daughter's contact information right on her chart, the hospital didn't bother notifying her family that she'd been hospitalized and was in intensive care, until twelve hours before she died, unnecessarily and alone. 
 

Elaine Sullivan was my mother.    Read more…
Next of Kin Legislation
 
We were positive the hospital must have broken a law by not calling me, for 6˝ days.  After all, my mother was brought into the hospital unable to communicate, and her old chart clearly had my name on it as her daughter and next of kin. 
But through research, we discovered that there wasn't one Illinois, California or federal regulation that said a hospital must contact a patient's family, even if the patient cannot communicate or give informed consent. In my mother's case that simple act would have saved her life.   That's when my daughter Laura and I decided to partner with legislators to create the Next of Kin Law.    
 
NOKEP
 
When hospitals nationwide began to ask us the best ways to perform notifications and to comply with the new California and Illinois laws, we realized that we needed to create a system hospitals could use to locate patient’s emergency contact numbers and notify next of kin quickly and easily. 
The Seven Steps to Successful Notification Information Kit, is now available free of charge to hospitals nationwide.
 
To download your free copy of the Seven Steps Kit, click here.
 
To shop for Seven Steps Products, click here.
 
To find out how to sponsor NOKEP, or make a donation, click here.
Filling in the Missing Piece
 
After Hurricane Katrina, the Tsunami and the London bombings, we joined forces with other emergency specialists to bring families everywhere, tips and information they can use in 15 minutes or less. to make all of their emergency information accessible and ready to go at a moments notice.   
 
To download your free copy of the “Make your Family Safer in 15 Minutes or Less” Action Plan, click here.
The Next of Kin Education Project is a Project of NOKR, Inc. a 501(c)(3) organization.  Contributions to NOKEP are tax deductible.
© 2007 Next of Kin Education Project                                                                                                                              Contact NOKEP