MedicAlert bracelet covered

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If you have a medical condition that could become life threatening if not properly treated, MedicAlert could help save your life. And if you are a status First Nation person, you can become a MedicAlert member at no cost to you.

The Canadian MedicAlert Foundation wants to get word out to status First Nations people that, under the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program (NIHB) of Health Canada, they are entitled to one free lifetime membership in MedicAlert, along with a basic MedicAlert bracelet.

The bracelet is custom engraved with the member?s medical condition or conditions, and a member ID number.

Devon Hanley is a media representative for MedicAlert. She said the coverage under NIHB is not a new thing, but MedicAlert is trying to get the information out to more people who may not know about it.

Hanley said the people who would benefit from having a MedicAlert bracelet are those with any kind of medical concern where, if there was an emergency, it would be really important for a first responder to know about it.

"If you can't speak, and you're not with somebody, like a family member or a friend who knows exactly what your condition is . . . the first responder is going to know right away how to treat you.

"So it's medical conditions that, though they themselves may not be life threatening, if something happens to you - you have some kind of a medical emergency" it could become life threatening if you're not treated properly, or not treated immediately," she explained.

All MedicAlert members are included on a database that allows medical personnel access to important information about you and your condition if you cannot speak for yourself. Doctors can access the database through a 1-800 number that is operational 24 hours a day, and can be reached from anywhere in the world.

"The key thing that makes MedicAlert different from other medical identification bracelets that, say, you can buy in jewelry or drug stores, is that it's a membership," Hanley said.

"You're a member of an organization, a non-profit organization that has a service behind it. And that service is the 1-800 number that connects you to a confidential database.

For people not covered under the NIHB program, the one-time MedicAlert membership fee is $50. For more information, or to become a MedicAlert member, call 1-800-668-1507.