‘All the information is there’: Cape Breton seniors receive Vials of Life

Some seniors in Cape Breton were given an extra piece of protection in case of a medical emergency.

The red and white cylinders handed out to a room full of seniors in Glace Bay, N.S., on Wednesday may have been unfamiliar to some, but others knew them by the sticker on front as the Vials of Life.

“On one side of it, it has what medications you’re on,” said Barry Gordon, a retired police officer who is now a senior safety navigator in his community.

“On the other side, it’s got who is your family doctor, your name, your address, your telephone number, next-of-kin information.”

Cape Breton Regional Police is partnering with the Victoria Order of Nurses (VON) to hand out the vials to elderly people around the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

Glace Bay resident Laurie Ross said having a vial in her fridge in case of a medical emergency will ease her mind a bit.

“My mother and grandmother had Vials of Life like this in the fridge forever and ever and ever, and I said ‘I don’t need those.’ They both passed. I threw them away and, now, here I am getting one for ourselves,” she said. “If the responders come in and they see the sticker on the fridge, they’ll know that all the information is in there.”

Gordon noted falls inside the home are the biggest safety concern among the more than 4,500 seniors he has met in his new role.

He adds the vials are particularly vital when first responders arrive at a home where a person is unconscious.

“Seconds and minutes are huge when you’re responding to an emergency,” said Gordon.

“So, if you go in a house and you’re trying to find some information on this person and they’re unconscious, this vial - this sticker on the fridge - gives us access right away to get a little bit of history on the person.”

Gordon said he and Const. Gary Fraser of the Cape Breton Regional Police will be handing out more Vials of Life in other communities around CBRM. The next session is planned for Thanksgiving weekend at St. Theresa’s Parish Hall in Sydney, N.S.

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