Emergency Medical Information and Identification Services Assist Physicians and Patients Alike

MedicAlert Foundation and Children's Hospital Central California Form Alliance

MADERA, Calif., June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After years of independently serving children and families, two key organizations – MedicAlert Foundation and Children's Hospital Central California (Children's) – have partnered to provide emergency medical information and identification services to children in the Central Valley. In an effort to improve health outcomes for young patients, as well as extend peace of mind and security to their parents, Children's will offer MedicAlert's live 24/7 emergency response/family notification services and Emergency Medical Information Record (EMIR). This alliance not only provides comfort to patients and their families, but also provides medical staff, paramedics, and other first responders with immediate access to patients' critical health information.

"The mission of Children's Hospital Central California is to provide high quality, comprehensive healthcare services to children," said Gordon Alexander, Jr., M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Children's Hospital Central California. "By working with MedicAlert Foundation, we will be able to extend the care we provide beyond the walls of our hospital."

Pediatric emergency patients, particularly those with complex medical conditions, often pose a real challenge for first responders in the field and community hospital emergency departments. The availability of key medical information about these patients is critical and can help to avert tragedies. Children's patients will be provided with MedicAlert's comprehensive services that assist in safeguarding and identifying individuals in an emergency. Members enrolled in the program will receive a personalized MedicAlert medical ID and emergency wallet card that provide first responders with identification information and details on any critical medical conditions, including medications, life threatening allergic reactions, and implantable medical devices. All calls to the MedicAlert live 24/7 emergency response center are answered by specially‐trained staff who provide vital information to first responders. MedicAlert patient information also is available online to authorized first responders and hospital emergency department personnel.

"MedicAlert was founded by a physician in 1956 after his daughter suffered a severe allergic reaction," said Andrew B. Wigglesworth, President & CEO of MedicAlert Foundation. "Children have always been at the heart of the MedicAlert mission. While MedicAlert Foundation provides these services around the globe, we are extremely pleased to be working to serve children in our home area with such a respected and leading provider of pediatric healthcare in the nation as Children's Hospital Central California."

The MedicAlert program is initially focused on children served by the Neurology, Endocrinology, Oncology, and CMCC units, but will soon be offered to all patients of the hospital.

About MedicAlert Foundation
Established in 1956, MedicAlert Foundation pioneered the use of medical IDs and systems to relay vital medical information to emergency responders on behalf of its members so they receive faster and safer treatment. Today, MedicAlert provides the functionality of an e‐health information exchange through an innovative combination of a unique patient identifier linked to an emergency medical information record and a live 24/7 emergency response service. MedicAlert medical IDs alert emergency personnel to a member's primary health conditions, medications, and/or implanted medical devices. In addition to its live 24/7 emergency response service, MedicAlert Foundation also provides family and caregiver notification so that members can be reunited with their loved ones. MedicAlert services are available around the world through a network of international nonprofit affiliated organizations licensed by the Foundation. Learn more at www.medicalert.org.

About Children's Hospital Central California
Children's Hospital Central California is a not for profit, state of the art children's hospital on a 50 acre campus. In California, we treat more inpatient cases than any pediatric hospital north of San Diego. Our 340 bed facility is one of the 10 largest hospitals of its type in the nation. We were the first children's hospital west of the Rockies to receive Magnet status, the highest nursing benchmark in the world. We received Magnet designation in 2004 and redesignation in 2008. Our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit was one of the first in the country to receive the national Beacon Award for Pediatric Critical Care Excellence from the American Association of Critical‐Care Nurses. Offering treatment in all pediatric subspecialties, Children's has established itself as the premier pediatric medical facility in the heart of the Golden State. For more information, visit www.childrenscentralcal.org.

SOURCE MedicAlert Foundation