RICHMOND, Virginia – Richmond residents now can share health information that could be critical to first responders serving them during an emergency or crisis. Residents are encouraged to create a free emergency health profile at https://www.emergencyprofile.org/. Here, they can enter any health information of their choosing, such as mental health issues, developmental disabilities, pre-existing conditions, allergies, emergency contacts and more into the voluntary database. This information would be available to the Richmond Department of Emergency Communications and first responders in the case of an emergency or crisis.
To ensure data privacy, information is associated with an individual’s phone number and is made available only to first responders when a 911 call is placed from the associated phone number.
“Being able to receive a caller’s health information will better inform our staff and first responders during emergency response,” said Stephen Willoughby, director of the Richmond Department of Emergency Communications, which answers and dispatches 911 calls in Richmond. “I urge our community members to create their free emergency health profile, ensuring they are able to share critical data with 911 to help protect lives.”
Visit https://www.rva.gov/911/healthprofile for more information.
Virginia localities are required to create a voluntary database of health information as part of the MARCUS alert system, which was signed by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Dec. 15, 2020. It is one of several initiatives that the city of Richmond and the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority will be launching to provide better services to those with mental health issues as part of the MARCUS alert system.
The emergency health profiles system provides real-time health and emergency contact information with 911, providing context beyond what callers in crisis are able to convey. The information provided is at the discretion of the individuals completing the profile. Individuals are encouraged to update their profile after any major health or life changes and in general once every six months. This life-saving information is available during an emergency to the Richmond Department of Emergency Communications and other emergency communications centers and first responders that use it, anywhere they are located.
The emergency technology company RapidSOS teamed up with The American Heart Association, The American Red Cross, and Direct Relief to launch this voluntary health database.
