Turlock's MedicAlert on a Mission to Save Lives
By Jackie Kaczmarek - Turlock Journal
January 16, 2004
It was a near fatal reaction to a tetanus antitoxin scratch test 50 years ago that led to the birth of MedicAlert. And today, about 4 million members all over the world are protected by the 24-hour emergency response service, which is headquartered in Turlock. There are currently approximately 2.4 million MedicAlert members in the United States and Canada, according to Ramesh Srinivasan, vice president of marketing.
“We're able to put Turlock on the world map,” he said. “MedicAlert is simply to protect and save lives by providing information in an emergency.” And the cost of that service is only pennies a month. After the initial $35 annual fee is paid, which includes the basic bracelet, annual membership costs $20 - less than two cents a month.
Home-grown emergency response
MedicAlert was founded Turlock in the mid-1950s after Linda Collins, the daughter of Dr. Marion Collins and Chrissie Collins, had a near fatal reaction to a tetanus antitoxin scratch test. And the realization that their daughter could have died if given the full injection gave birth to the need for personal identification.
The organization developed from a small, local service in the 1950s and 1960s to become a national presence in the field of emergency medicine. In 1960, MedicAlert launched the initial telephone-based Emergency Response operated out of a hospital in Turlock. Inside the rambling, modern-looking building in the 2300 block of Colorado Avenue, light pours through windows and skylights, and bounces off the polished tile floors.
Photographs of celebrities line one wall, each of them proudly displaying their MedicAlert bracelet. Several of the 100-or-so employees go about their business, each focusing on their mission: To help save lives. “The member controls their own destiny,” said Srinivasan, as he described the application process. Rather than having to rely on a physician to share detailed information, each person who signs up provides their own information, detailing medical conditions, types of implanted devices, or allergies to foods or medications. People can sign up in different ways: By calling a toll-free number any time of the day or night, visiting the Web site, or sending a letter and requesting an application form. If a person cannot afford to purchase a membership, yet would benefit from such a service, they can obtain a recommendation from their physician, and their fees could be waived.
The MedicAlert call center on Colorado Avenue is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week by personnel who undergo an extensive five-week training session. Each year, the Turlock facility handles about 500,000 calls from its members. And not only is information readily available on a person's medical condition, it also allows MedicAlert to contact a family member and alert them to the emergency.
The more urgent calls are handled immediately by a team made up of registered nurses, emergency medical technicians and other professionals with a background in medicine. On Thursday, emergency response manager Andi Terry was on duty, and Stacey Sarrels was on hand to screen vital calls as they came in. Each call is screened and verified to make sure that it is legitimate, and all information shared is kept strictly confidential. As Sarrels manned her station, a call was relayed from a nurse at the University of Pennsylvania hospital. A man had been brought in wearing a MedicAlert bracelet which read “implanted device.” What kind of device is it? the nurse wanted to know. Once Sarrels had confirmed the caller's name, phone number and location, she accessed the man's records through the identification number on his bracelet. It turned out the device was a pacemaker.
Each member has an ID number, not their name, imprinted on their bracelet or tag. And it contains a phone number that people can call if they find someone unconscious or need to access their medical background. But before calling MedicAlert, they should call 911, said Srinivasan. The medical personnel will then be given the necessary information, because, he added, “Time is of the essence.”