ERIK Kit Manitoba: What It Is, What Goes Inside, and How to Set One Up

What the ERIK Kit Is

ERIK stands for Emergency Response Information Kit — a standardized system used across Manitoba to give paramedics instant access to a patient's medical information during a home emergency. It's a clear plastic sleeve held by a magnet on the front of the patient's refrigerator, accompanied by a red reflective sticker on the outside of the front door.

The concept is deliberately low-tech. When paramedics respond to a 911 call at a private home, they don't have time to search filing cabinets or ask disoriented family members for medical documents. They're trained to look for one thing: the red sticker on the door (which signals an ERIK is present) and the plastic sleeve on the fridge (which contains the critical documents). Every second matters, and the ERIK eliminates the search.

Why the ERIK Matters for Advance Planning

The ERIK is the bridge between your planning documents and the healthcare system's response in an emergency. Without it, even a perfectly drafted Health Care Directive can fail in practice:

Scenario without ERIK: A 78-year-old with a terminal diagnosis and a Level C (comfort care) Goals of Care designation has a cardiac event at home. Family calls 911. Paramedics arrive and can't find any medical documents. They default to full resuscitative protocols — CPR, intubation, ambulance to hospital. The patient ends up in the ICU on a ventilator, which is exactly what their Health Care Directive was written to prevent.

Scenario with ERIK: Same patient, same emergency. Paramedics see the red sticker on the front door. They check the fridge and find the ERIK with the Goals of Care form showing Level C. They provide comfort care, manage pain, and contact the patient's proxy. The patient's wishes are followed.

The ERIK doesn't change the law. It changes whether the law's protections actually work when it matters.

What Goes Inside the ERIK

The plastic sleeve on the fridge should contain:

1. Health and Medication Form

A completed form listing:

• Full legal name and Manitoba Health number
• Date of birth
• Allergies (medications, food, environmental)
• Current medications with dosages and prescribing physicians
• Major medical conditions and diagnoses
• Primary physician's name and contact number
• Name and contact information for the healthcare proxy (substitute decision maker)

2. Copy of the Health Care Directive

A photocopy of the signed Health Care Directive — not the original. The original should be stored safely at home (not in a safe deposit box), but the ERIK copy is what paramedics will reference in the field. It should clearly show proxy appointments and treatment preferences.

3. Goals of Care Form (if completed)

If a physician has completed a Goals of Care designation (Level C, M, or R), a copy of that form belongs in the ERIK. This is the most immediately actionable document for paramedics — it translates your general preferences into specific clinical instructions they can follow without interpretation.

4. Organ and Tissue Donation Card

If you've registered your organ donation preferences through Sign Up for Life (signupforlife.ca), include a copy or printout in the ERIK. This information needs to be accessible quickly if the clinical situation involves a potential donation scenario.

How to Get and Set Up an ERIK Kit

In Winnipeg, ERIK kits are available free of charge through these channels:

• Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service — available at fire paramedic stations
• Seniors' organizations and resource councils — contact a local organization for availability

Outside Winnipeg, contact your local seniors' resource council or fire/paramedic service to ask whether ERIK kits are available in your area.

If you can't locate a physical kit, you can replicate the system yourself: a clear plastic sleeve (any document-sized magnetic sleeve works), a red reflective sticker or sign for the front door, and the documents listed above. The format matters less than the location — paramedics know to check the fridge.

Setting It Up: Step by Step

1. Assemble your documents. Complete the Health and Medication form with current information. Make a photocopy of your signed Health Care Directive. Include a copy of your Goals of Care form if one exists.

2. Place all documents in the plastic sleeve. Face them outward so the Health and Medication form is visible without removing papers from the sleeve.

3. Attach the sleeve to the front of your refrigerator using the magnetic strip. If your fridge has a non-magnetic surface, use strong adhesive strips.

4. Place the red reflective sticker on the outside of your front door at eye level. This is the signal that tells paramedics an ERIK is present and they should check the fridge.

5. Update the contents regularly. Any time medications change, a new diagnosis is added, or proxy information changes, replace the outdated documents in the ERIK. A kit with last year's medication list is better than nothing, but current information saves the most time and prevents errors.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Putting the ERIK somewhere other than the fridge. The entire system depends on paramedics knowing where to look. A bedside table, desk drawer, or kitchen cupboard defeats the purpose. The fridge. Always the fridge.

Including original documents instead of copies. If paramedics take the ERIK to the hospital (which they sometimes do), you don't want your only copy of the Health Care Directive leaving the house. Originals stay in your files; copies go in the ERIK.

Forgetting to tell family members. Everyone in the household should know the ERIK is there and what it contains. If a spouse or adult child calls 911 and then intercepts the paramedics with conflicting verbal instructions, the ERIK's effectiveness is undermined.

Skipping the front door sticker. The sticker is the trigger. Without it, paramedics may not check the fridge at all — they'll focus on the patient and default to standard protocols.

The Manitoba Advance Directive & Living Will Kit includes a complete ERIK setup checklist and a Health and Medication form template designed to pair with your Health Care Directive, ensuring everything paramedics need is in one place on the fridge.

See more Manitoba guides →