Integrated institutional first aid kit

Abstract

A integrated institutional first aid kit for use in schools, playgrounds, daycare facilities and other similar environments, wherein the integrated institutional first aid kit enables first aid medicines, hygienic needs, cold packs, and regulatory forms to be carried in a single package. The integrated institutional first aid kit also enables the user to quickly and easily access tissues or other hygienic needs without exposing internal compartments to contamination through the use of external openings. The integrated institutional first aid kit further allows for the storage of cold packs through the use of an segregated, insulated pocket. The integrated institutional first aid kit can be formed in any of a variety of materials including various nylon blends, or in a rigid format formed of plastic or metal commonly used for such applications and known within the art.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to first aid kits, and more specifically, to a new and useful means for providing first aid essentials in a school, playground, day care or similar environment.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

In the field of emergency medical care there are dozens of kits comprised of various components and laid out in a variety of formats. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,097 describes a first aid kit utilizing distinct pockets, each pocket marked by an indicia regarding the sort of injury treatable by the contents of the pocket. It further describes flotation means to enable a user to maintain buoyancy in an emergency. Another invention, described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,702 utilizes a card-catalog style layout and a detailed instruction book to offer benefits to users.

No prior art known to the inventor describes a first aid kit that suits the particular needs of institutional use through the use of an integrated clipboard, nor does any prior art describe a first aid kit for institutional use which provides an insulated cold area. Finally, no prior art depicts a first aid kit which segregates easy access items requiring less sterility, from more protected items where greater sterility is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is comprised of an integrated institutional first aid kit constructed to contain a plurality of pockets or internal voids within the integrated institutional first aid kit, a clipboard means, and a central insulated region for storing cold packs or ice packs for first aid needs. The first aid kit would provide quick and easy access in one location for the most common needs for providers of child care in the school or playground environment and allow the providers to utilize one kit rather than carry multiple items to address the current health, sanitation, and regulatory needs of today's providers. Keys to the design are a tissue dispenser on an outside surface, allowing for the fast and sanitary distribution of tissues without exposing the inner portions of the kit to dirt or germs, a fold out clipboard and pen holder to accommodate the regulatory forms that are required in most state school systems every time first aid is administered, and an integral insulated pocket for cold packs or ice packs.

The integrated institutional first aid kit of the invention could take the form of a multi-pocket soft case, an external closure means, such as a hook and loop equipped strip, and a plurality of internal pockets ideally situated around an insulated internal pocket. In the preferred embodiment, the integrated institutional first aid kit of the invention is comprised of a semi-rigid compact fabric kit bag which opens on one surface exposing the clipboard and regulatory forms, medical gloves, and room-temperature first aid items, with a second sealed closure maintaining the cool chamber for ice packs. A singe pocket accessible from the outside and segregated from the other internal areas would accommodate a standard or small-sized tissue box and allow access from the outside of the kit without opening the kit. This allows for a unique solution to school first aid providers and other providers of aid in a generally pediatric fashion, to provide for the common needs of the children, and for the increasing regulatory needs in a single kit, while simultaneously providing an easy and compact solution for cold packs and the like.

The integrated institutional first aid kit can be constructed from any of the natural or synthetic materials commonly used for sewn goods, with sufficient rigidity to protect the contents and sufficient durability to withstand the rigors of playground presence, or, alternatively, from some cast or molded rigid synthetic materials with similar characteristics. Certain grades of nylon fabric used for active outdoor purposes are commonly employed for kit construction, and this same nylon material may be utilized in the chief embodiment of the invention.

Taken severally or in combination the novel features of the integrated institutional first aid kit offers benefits exclusive to the field.

The present embodiments, described in the foregoing, satisfies the need within the art by providing a integrated institutional first aid kit with cold-pocket and clipboard means which allows the user numerous capabilities not otherwise available with the current first aid kits on the market.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the invention are listed below:

• • (a) It is one object of this invention to provide a first aid kit ideally suited to the needs of schools, daycares, and other similar institutions
  • (b) It is another object of this invention to provide the most common playground first aid necessities in a single package;
  • (c) It is another object of this invention to promote regulatory compliance to state and federal laws by bundling regulatory forms, writing means and clipboard within the first aid kit of the invention;
  • (d) It is another object of this invention to provide a mobile and compact means of maintaining cold packs in a child care or playground environment;
  • (e) It is yet another object of this invention to promote good hygiene by keeping tissues on the outside of the kit, reducing access to inner portion for true first aid needs, and thereby increasing the cleanliness of the inner portion of the kit.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exterior profile view of a integrated institutional first aid kit in an open position.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

• 10 An integrated institutional first aid kit
• 11 A clipboard means within the integrated institutional first aid kit
• 11A A closure means on the clipboard means for closing the first aid kit
• 12 Internal pockets for first aid medicines and medical gloves within the first aid kit
• 13 The cold storage pocket within the first aid kit of the invention

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS—FIG. 1

Now turning to the drawing it will be observed that it depicts a detailed drawing of one typical embodiment of an integrated institutional first aid kit 10 with clipboard means 11 serving as a lid for the first aid kit using closure means 11A to seal the lid. The internal pockets 12 hold supplies securely within the case and may be individually labeled to maintain continuity and to ensure proper re-supply. The cold storage pocket is insulated and maintains its own separate closure to aid in maintaining the cold environment necessary for cold pack or ice pack storage.

OPERATION OF INVENTION

The manner of using the first aid kit of the invention is as follows: The integrated institutional first aid kit will be stocked with the necessary first aid items such as bandages, antiseptic, medical gloves, tissue, cold packs, tissues and the like. It will also be supplied with the necessary regulatory forms required by law in schools and other institutions when medicine is dispensed, and these forms will be affixed to the clipboard of the first aid kit. The first aid kit will then be employed in a playground, nurses office or other environment. Tissues will be dispensed as desired without a need for opening the first aid kit and exposing the internal portions to dirt and germs by virtue of the tissue opening described in the invention. Additionally, minor injuries requiring cold packs will now be treatable at the site without resorting to a second device in the form of a cooler or refrigerator by virtue of the cold pack storage area of the invention.

CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS AND SCOPE OF INVENTION

Thus the reader will see that integrated institutional first aid kit of this invention provides a new and highly effective means for enabling care providers to carry and maintain the necessary first aid essentials for an institutional, school or playground environment while simultaneously providing means for regulatory compliance integrally. Additionally, the integrated institutional first aid kit allows for all of the benefits of a first aid kit combined with the benefits of cold storage, and hygienic non-first aid needs in a single package.

While the above description contains certain specifics, it should not be construed as a limitation upon the described invention, but merely as providing illustrations of certain currently preferred embodiments.

Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.

Claims

1. An integrated first aid kit comprising: enclosed first aid storage and an integrated clipboard,

2. An integrated first aid kit consisting of:

(a) a plurality of first aid storage pockets;

(b) An insulated pocket;

(c) A clipboard;

3. An integrated first aid kit consisting of:

(a) a plurality of first aid storage pockets;

(d) An insulated pocket;

(e) A clipboard;

(f) A segregated tissue access point;