Police partner with MedicAlert to protect the most vulnerable
Earl Warren loves to walk along the Welland Canal in St. Catharines.
While his wife Jori supports her husband’s healthy lifestyle, the simple activity of walking often left her worried.
Fifty-six-year-old Earl has early onset dementia.
“As long as he stays on the canal it’s fine but sometimes he wanders,” she said.
To that end, Earl was among the first in the region to register for MedicAlert Connect Protect.
The new service gives Niagara Regional Police 24-hour access to a registered subscriber’s identity, photo and other vital information.
It ensures vulnerable individuals — such as people with autism, Alzheimer’s, dementia, fetal alcohol syndrome disorders or those with a cognitive brain injury — receive immediate and focused attention in the event of an emergency.
“When subscribers go missing, this will help officers conduct their search more efficiently ensuring those who have gone missing are reunited with their loved ones sooner,” said Robert
Ridge, president and CEO of MedicAlert Foundation Canada.
“These people are our neighbours and our loved ones, people we care about and people we care for.”
For Earl, his registration also includes information on other health issues and the various medications he takes.
The NRP and MedicAlert Foundation Canada launched the new service Tuesday.
The police service created an autism registry several years ago, which was expanded in 2017 to include all vulnerable persons.
When the program was reviewed, staff found that other police services were moving away from managing similar databases and were partnering with MedicAlert.
“We realized we weren’t serving the needs of everybody,” said Gary Holden, NRP records manager.
“We quickly realized our own in-house system wasn’t as robust as it needed to be.”
People were invited to register for the service at the NRP headquarters in Niagara Falls on Tuesday. Registrations continue Wednesday 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. The first 100 new MedicAlert subscribers will receive their first year service plan and a MedicAlert ID at no cost.
To learn more about MedicAlert Connect Protect, visit medicalert.ca or call 1-866-696-0273.
MedicAlert Foundation Canada is the largest membership-based registered charity in Canada and it is the leading provider of emergency medical information services.