FLAGLER BEACH, Fla. – Notes of grief lingered in the room Tuesday night as Kim Carney stood before residents at her first District 3 Town Hall on February 24 at the Wickline Center in Flagler Beach and introduced something deeply personal — her “File of Life” initiative.
The Flagler County Board of County Commissioners Vice Chair shared how the recent loss of her mother shaped the effort. Her mother had been clear about her final wishes.
“Death with dignity is what she wanted. She worked as a nurse…” Carney said, her voice softening as the memory caught up with her. “I thought I had all the paperwork done. There was one thing that needed to be done that would have bridged the gap.”
That missing piece was the Florida Do Not Resuscitate Order form — the state’s required yellow document, DH Form 1896. Without it printed on yellow paper and signed by a physician, emergency responders are legally required to attempt life-saving measures, even when a patient’s wishes say otherwise. It is different from a Living Will and must be immediately visible and properly executed for first responders to honor it.
Carney had done the planning. She had prepared. But in the most critical moment, it wasn’t enough.
Rather than allowing that heartbreak to linger in silence, she turned it into action.
“Working on this project allows me to save her wishes,” Carney said. “This is not to encourage people one way or another. I just want people to know the information if it is something they want or need.”
Through a personal donation, Carney is ensuring the official yellow DNRO forms are available in “File of Life” kits distributed by Flagler County Fire Rescue Community Paramedics. Each kit includes a 5-by-7-inch magnetic holder — designed to be placed on a refrigerator where first responders are trained to look — along with a 3-by-3-inch sticker for a front door or window to alert emergency personnel that critical medical documents are inside.
The initiative mirrors the Vial of Life program first created in 1998 in California, but Carney’s version carries the weight of lived experience — and a daughter’s promise.
There is legislation pending — House Bill 369 and Senate Bill 312 — that could streamline the process in the future.
“Until then we will have a process in place,” Carney said.
For Carney, this is more than paperwork. It is about clarity in moments of chaos. It is about honoring a final request. It is about ensuring that no family discovers, too late, that one small detail stood between intention and reality.
Flagler County residents can request a File of Life kit by calling 386-313-4260 or emailing commparamed@flaglercounty.gov.
In turning sorrow into service, Carney hopes others will never have to say, “I thought I had done everything.”
