How MedicAlert and RapidSOS helped Toronto Police find a woman who couldn't explain where she was.
At 11:17 p.m. on January 28, 2026, a 65-year-old woman called 911. She said she was locked inside a store and couldn't get out. She said two children were with her, but she couldn't remember their ages. Nothing about the story added up. The details were confusing. But one thing stood out.
“She did identify that she had Parkinson’s during the call and she didn’t have her medication,” says Dawn Sams, Operations Supervisor in the Planning and Innovation Unit at the Toronto Police Service Communications Centre.
That prompted the 911 call taker to look for more information.
“What the caller disclosed prompted the call taker to open the portal and check the phone number, which is when they saw the MedicAlert information,” says Sarah Mardus, Voice Services Coordinator with Toronto Police Service.
The portal was RapidSOS, a platform available to participating 911 agencies in Canada and internationally that can surface additional information tied to a call — including more precise location data and linked emergency profiles, like MedicAlert.
That's the part many people don't see when they think about MedicAlert: behind the ID bracelet and the wallet card sits a secure subscriber profile that can include health conditions, medications, implants, behavioural triggers, emergency contacts, even a current photo — all available to responders when they need it in an emergency.
In this case, RapidSOS connected the woman's phone number to her location and her MedicAlert profile, which confirmed her Parkinson's diagnosis and gave her home address.
Suddenly the dispatcher had a way to make sense of the story and help the woman.
“It was that extra layer of confirmation that we’re sending emergency resources to the right place,” says Dawn.
Officers were sent to the scene while the dispatcher stayed on the line. When they arrived, the woman couldn't help them get in, so they made entry themselves and found her safe, alone, inside her own home.
There was no store. There were no children. She had been home the entire time. Officers determined her account was shaped by medical confusion and memory impairment connected to her condition. She was uninjured, and no further intervention was needed.
For Dawn and Sarah, the call is a clear example of what happens when a person's words can't tell the whole story, but something else can.
"What I appreciate most is knowing that the MedicAlert information has been verified," says Dawn. "It gives us reliable context when we need to make decisions quickly."
“It just provides valuable context and gives us a clearer understanding of the situation,” Sarah adds. “It helps us put the pieces together.”
That view is shared at the leadership level. "We couldn't be more excited about the integration of MedicAlert information within RapidSOS," says Superintendent - Communications Services, Greg Watts of the Toronto Police Service. "It gives our members immediate access to verified information that can help them better understand the person behind the call and provide responding officers with valuable context. When every second matters, having the right information at the right time isn't just helpful, it can be a game changer. This is technology with heart, and it will help us deliver a safer, more informed and compassionate emergency response."
That context matters well beyond this one call. A person on the line might be confused, disoriented, non-verbal, or unconscious. Sometimes a medical condition looks like something else entirely.
“A caller may present with signs that could initially be mistaken for impairment,” Sarah says. “In some cases, those signs may instead be related to an underlying medical condition.”
For subscribers managing dementia, autism, Parkinson's, a neurological condition, or another complex health need, a MedicAlert profile can carry far more than a diagnosis. It can include communication needs, known triggers, de-escalation approaches, emergency contacts, and a current photo.
“If a MedicAlert profile includes guidance such as approaching the individual calmly or speaking in a soft voice, that information can help responders avoid potential triggers and tailor their approach,” says Dawn. “It can be extremely valuable for responding units.”
For someone at risk of wandering, access to a current photograph can save critical time. “Having a photograph attached to the profile is incredibly valuable,” says Dawn. “Having it readily available can help responders identify and locate the person more quickly.”
That's RapidSOS and MedicAlert working together: one surfaces the connection, the other supplies the verified detail on the other end of it.
For subscribers, it means keeping health information current, so it reflects what responders need to know, exactly when they need it. For agencies, it means having that pathway in place before the call ever comes in.
The same holds for any agency considering the platform — once MedicAlert profiles are part of the picture, the value compounds fast. "Once it’s implemented, people quickly begin to understand its value and the difference it can make,” says Dawn.
For the woman who called 911 that January night, the detail that changed everything wasn't something she could say. It was something her MedicAlert profile said for her.
First responders—we’d love to hear from you!
Want to learn more about Connect Protect, bring it to your community, or to see if Connect Protect is already available in your area? Email us at firstresponders@medicalert.ca.
