I am really excited to welcome you all to the start of our
national Awareness Week campaign – Wear
What Matters.
The campaign’s name comes from the notion that time and
again our members tell us what matters most to them is being able to live their
lives to the fullest in a safe and healthy way. We consistently get feedback
that MedicAlert® membership plays an important role in making that happen
so when it comes to wearing what matters – we are what matters - through our
distinctive emblem and service provision.
There is still so much that our organisation needs to do,
and Wear What Matters is one step in
a long education process. Even though we have helped close to 300,000 people
since 1971, an estimated one in every three Australians can also benefit from
becoming a member.
It’s our responsibility to raise awareness of what people
can do to stay safe and we are doing this by helping to tell the real-life
stories of survival and the tales of courage from people like you. I’d
encourage you to share your own personal story with us on our Facebook page or website, and potentially encourage someone to
spring into action and also become a member.
Often people make the decision after they've survived a
near-miss event and want to avoid a repeat performance – but I would rather
people stop playing ‘Russian roulette’ with their lives and take proactive
control to reduce the risks in their personal circumstance.
We are also using the Week to remind the general community to
check the neck and wrist pulse points if they come across someone in trouble –
because a MedicAlert member will have potential life-saving information on
their emblem that can assist in an emergency, especially if they cannot speak for
themselves.
It’s also appropriate to thank the many men and women who
work in emergency services and across the entire healthcare sector for their support
and commitment. We spend a great deal of effort every year working with these
groups so that it remains front of mind to check for our emblem as part of
their response actions.
Make sure to stay in touch with what is happening during the
week through our Facebook profile and check out the website at www.medicalert.org.au/wear-what-matters
to find out more, read some testimonials and play our great little Memory game.
If you are a MedicAlert member then this is your week and I
encourage you to get involved, share your story, and most importantly have some
fun – because when it comes down to it, living life to the full is really what
matters most, isn’t it?
Sandra
