Providing emergency care for Calgarians with medical conditions will be a lot easier thanks to a new partnership with a nationwide medical database.

MedicAlert Connect Protect is a service that helps bring attention to vital information about patients in emergency situations.

In addition to the service’s distinctive ID tag, it also assigns a unique identification number to each subscriber that connects police, EMS, firefighters and other healthcare personnel with a photo, identification details and medical information.

Deputy Chief Ryan Ayliffe says it will replace the CPS’ Vulnerable Persons Registry that was launched in 2015.

“At the time, the registry met the needs of the service and vulnerable Calgarians, however the staff time required by the CPS to maintain the registry is no longer sustainable and the information contained in its database was often outdated or incomplete.”

In addition, the partnership will protect Calgarians even when they’re outside the city.

The service is particularly useful for the families of people with Alzheimer’s or autism and for those with medical conditions where time is of the essence when it comes to an emergency.

Francoise Faverjon-Fortin, CEO of MedicAlert, says the non-profit organization has protected over one million Canadians in emergency situations since its inception in 1961.

She says the information in their database is useful to police services, not just EMS and healthcare professionals.

“In addition to the medical information, we also have cognitive information, we may have information that the families or the caregivers think will be helpful in the cases where that family member is identified in terms of understanding the situation.”

Faverjon-Fortin says with the Connect Protect program, emergency services can respond faster and more effectively to reach a better outcome.

“We know that time is essential and we are trying to meet that need,” she says.

“We’re very excited for this partnership and have no doubt that it will make Calgary a safer place for vulnerable people,” Ayliffe says.

MedicAlert Connect Protect was launched in 2015 and is currently partnered with over 20 police services across Canada.

For more information and how to sign up for the service, you can check the MedicAlert website.

(With files from Ina Sidhu)