New life line available for vulnerable people in Winnipeg

It seems to be happening more and more often — patients wandering away from care homes, families anxiously searching for missing loved ones.

The Winnipeg Police Service has paired up with a national organization with an aim to better protect vulnerable people in the city.

MedicAlert Connect Protect, established by MedicAlert Foundation Canada, will help police locate people living with autism, Alzheimer’s, dementia or a cognitive brain injury who go missing.

RELATED: Missing 71-year-old Winnipeg man with dementia found

The program gives officials 24-hour access to images, contact information and incident history for subscribers.

“Partnerships like this support our service’s priorities when it comes to the protection of vulnerable persons,” WPS Chief Danny Smyth said. “It certainly has the potential to relieve anxiety that comes about with families that are subject to people that have been lost or confused.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Partnerships like this support our service's priorities when it comes to the protection of vulnerable persons," WPS Chief Danny Smyth said. "It certainly has the potential to relieve anxiety that comes about with families that are subject to people that have been lost or confused."

Giving police access to a database of information will help officers reunite missing persons with their families sooner, and that could save lives. Smyth said in Winnipeg, particularly in winter, minutes matter.

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“The first of its kind in Manitoba, MedicAlert Connect Protect will safeguard Winnipeg-area MedicAlert subscribers through the valuable MedicAlert protection,”  Robert Ridge, president of MedicAlert, said.

“In an emergency situation, Winnipeg Police Service officers will have access to vital information that will save valuable time and unnecessary worry from family members and caregivers, and which may be necessary to save a life.”

Ridge said their 24-7 hotline received almost 500 calls in 2017 relating to wandering incidents. The program gives subscribers an additional layer of protection to help them get home sooner.