Medicalert Connect Protect
The St. Thomas Police Service is retiring our in-house Vulnerable Person Registry and has partnered with MedicAlert Foundation Canada to bring the MedicAlert Connect Protect service to St. Thomas to better help officers quickly identify and locate lost or missing vulnerable individuals in the event of an emergency situation.
MedicAlert Connect Protect provides police officers 24/7 access to the electronic medical profile of those individuals living with autism, Alzheimer’s, dementia, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, mental health related issues, or cognitive brain injuries who are registered subscribers.
This voluntary service will enable front line officers in St. Thomas and other participating agencies to access critical intelligence including a recent photo, physical descriptions, wandering history, behaviour management strategies such as anxiety triggers and de-escalation techniques, as well as caregiver information.
For more information on the MedicAlert Connect Protect service, visit medicalert.ca/connectprotect.
Developed by MedicAlert in 2015, MedicAlert Connect Protect gives police officers 24-hour direct access to a MedicAlert subscriber’s recent photo and personal information including identity, physical descriptions, attributes, wandering history, behavior management strategies such as anxiety triggers and de-escalation techniques, as well as caregiver information. Officers called to an emergency involving a MedicAlert subscriber will also have access to vital information which may be necessary to save a life. When a person is found by police, this information allows them to identify and locate family members when every second counts.
The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police have endorsed the MedicAlert Connect Protect program as a valuable tool to help the police respond to missing person cases and wandering incidents.
Participants can sign up online (medicalert.ca/connectprotect), by phone (1.866.696.0273) or by mail. If they wish to update their information they can do so online, by phone, or by mail. MedicAlert continuously provides touch points with subscribers to communicate the value of ensuring their information is updated.
MedicAlert Connect Protect has been proven to help police conduct their search more efficiently, ensuring those who have gone missing are reunited with their loved ones sooner. Police forces using Connect Protect also have access to the entire MedicAlert database for emergency purposes. This means they are not limited by geographic location or jurisdiction. For example, if a MedicAlert subscriber residing in Toronto visits family in Vancouver, and happens to go missing, Vancouver Police have the capability of directly searching for and accessing her information through the MedicAlert Connect Protect service.
Vulnerable persons who are enrolled in the MedicAlert program in a community that uses Connect Protect will be assured that should they go missing, any community using the Connect Protect program will be able to find their information in the MedicAlert database—allowing for speedier search times for police.
To register it is $60. This includes the cost of the MedicAlert ID + the first year of MedicAlert service. After the first year, it is $5 per month for subscribers.
