Free Alarms for Patients Project

The Free Alarms for Patients Project is an annual effort with one simple goal: getting CO alarms into the hands of patients receiving treatment for CO poisoning.  Alarms are provided as part of a kit, which also includes informational materials about how to stay CO safe both at home and when traveling. Alarm kits are shipped to hospital hyperbaric units and patients receive them at the time of discharge, providing them the immediate ability to stay safe as they return home.

Surviving CO poisoning can be, and often is, a traumatic and frightening experience. Given the invisible and odorless nature of the gas, most people are caught off guard and unaware they are being exposed.  They often do not understand what is happening to them until they are diagnosed with CO poisoning at the hospital. This can be especially overwhelming if the exposure has happened to your child, or in some cases your entire family.  It can also be difficult to understand what happened if there is a language barrier.  Many people are unfamiliar with CO and are therefore unaware of the critical need to utilize a CO alarm for safety.

CO Alarm Kit

Project Origin

The Free Alarms for Patients Project began as a pilot project in 2021 after we received a request for CO alarms from a hyperbaric unit nurse who shared heartbreaking stories of patients who were returning to their hospital for repeated episodes of CO poisoning. Some of the reported reasons for this were the inability to afford an alarm and/or simply not being able to understand what kind of alarm to buy because of a language barrier. Separately, we were also hearing from survivors who had been poisoned by CO in hotels and, following discharge from the hospital, were facing another night in a hotel until they could return home. They described being fearful of sleeping anywhere again without an alarm nearby. Being poisoned by a gas you have no way of sensing is a uniquely traumatic experience. It was easy to see how providing alarm kits to treatment facilities would fulfill a vital safety need for poisoning survivors.

Since 2021 the project has expanded and, thanks to generous donations, currently ships an average of 500 CO alarm kits to hyperbaric treatment facilities throughout the U.S. every year.

(photo courtesy of Center for Wound Care & Hyperbarics, Springhill Medical Center – Mobile, Alabama)

Project Partners

The Free Alarms for Patients Project is made possible thanks to private donations and generous sponsorship by UL Standards & Engagement (ULSE) who also provide engaging informational materials for the CO alarm kits.