McMaster Optimal Aging Portal and MedicAlert® Foundation Canada partner to promote healthy, active aging

A new partnership between McMaster’s Optimal Aging Portal and MedicAlert® Foundation Canada will help to ensure that Canadians have access to high-quality information that can help them to remain healthy, active and engaged as long as possible, and to manage their health conditions.

"We are proud to announce this new partnership,“ said Robert Ridge, President and CEO of MedicAlert® Foundation Canada. “MedicAlert helps to protect over 1 million Canadians every day. We believe that the information and resources offered through the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal will be of great value and interest to many of our members and their families.”

MedicAlert believes that the content provided by the Portal will support its members in managing their health and making informed decisions about their healthcare.

"The Portal has a wealth of content for the general public, including consumer-friendly evidence summaries drawn from high quality research articles, web resources ratings, blog posts, and much more” said John Lavis, Director of the McMaster Health Forum and one of the Portal Leads. “We are pleased to partner with MedicAlert as we share a common goal — helping Canadians to live healthy, active lives."

The McMaster Optimal Aging Portal is part of McMaster’s Labarge Optimal Aging Initiative, which has been funded by a donation from retired businesswoman Suzanne Labarge who is personally committed to improving the lives of older adults by offering access to trusted informational resources for Canadians, as well as by funding a series of research projects on optimal aging. The Portal is an online resource that provides Canadians with easy to understand, scientific evidence about how to stay healthy, active and engaged as they grow older.  The Portal:

  • Makes sense of the science:  Experts identify key messages from scientific research that’s relevant and ready to be acted on.
  • Provides information you can trust:  There are many free online health resources, but it’s hard to know which are worth a closer look.  The Portal offers expert evaluation to tell users whether those sites are based on scientific research. 
  • Puts the research in context:  Experts provide commentary on what the scientific research on a topic actually means and why good science matters.
  • Shares important health news on the site and twitter. @Mac_AgingNews tweets about emerging health news, evidence and related information from the Portal.

The Portal also provides customizable email alerts about new evidence and resources added to the site.

This new partnership will help to raise the profile of both organizations and marks a new commitment to making evidence-based health information publicly accessible. As part of the partnership, the Portal and MedicAlert plan to explore joint research initiatives and to collaborate on informing and engaging citizens and stakeholders on issues related to optimal aging.

Labarge Optimal Aging Initiative
http://optimalaging.mcmaster.ca

The aim of the Labarge Optimal Aging Initiative is to keep older adults healthy and active for as long as possible. The initial research focus will be on maintaining mobility, slowing chronic disease and fighting deadly infections as well as developing a resource of information for aging Canadians with the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal. 

McMaster Optimal Aging Portal
http://www.mcmasteroptimalaging.org/

McMaster's Optimal Aging Portal aims to ensure that Canadians know about and have access to high-quality information that can help them remain healthy, active and engaged as long as possible, and to manage their health conditions. Users can register for free and gain easy access to search the full content of the Portal and stay up to date with email alerts of the latest evidence about how to stay healthy, active and engaged as they grow older. Users can also follow @Mac_AgingNews or the Portal on Facebook for news and evidence about optimal aging.

MedicAlert® Foundation Canada
https://www.medicalert.ca

MedicAlert Foundation Canada (MAFCA) is the largest membership-based registered charity in Canada and the leading provider of emergency medical information services for more than one million Canadians since 1961. Its mission is to protect Canadians and save lives. 

MedicAlert® is backed by robust electronic health records maintained by medically trained professionals, a state-of-the-art secure database, and a 24/7 Emergency Hotline that answers calls from EMS and first responder personnel in 140 languages within 5 seconds, all linked to customized identification products for Canadians with medical conditions and special needs.  Universally recognized and respected, MedicAlert speaks for you, when you can’t™.

Learn more about MedicAlert, how it works, and how you or a loved one can become a member at www.MedicAlert.ca or by calling 1.800.668.1507.