New MedicAlert CEO to start free services to kids with chronic illnesses

TURLOCK -- Martin Kabat quietly made the transition from interim chief executive officer of MedicAlert Foundation to permanent CEO last month.

But he will soon make his mark in Stanislaus County and beyond by bringing a program developed in Canada to give free MedicAlert services to schoolchildren with chronic medical conditions.

The program is called "No Child Without" in Canada, where Kabat served as CEO of the Canadian MedicAlert Foundation from 2004 to 2007, but will have a different name when it's rolled out in the Turlock Unified School District next month and Modesto schools later in the year. MedicAlert plans to offer the program in schools across the United States.

MedicAlert is a medical information service for members who wear bracelets or pendants warning of their chronic health conditions. Emergency personnel can get patient histories by calling the 24-hour hot line.

Kabat, 67, was appointed interim CEO of MedicAlert when Paul Kortschak resigned in October to pursue other opportunities. The foundation's board of directors liked his experience in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, and his work in Canada, so he was given the permanent job in March.

Before joining MedicAlert four years ago, the New York state native was vice president of finance and administration for iFire Technology in Toronto, a developer of flat panel television technology.

In a previous position as chief financial officer for The Travelstead Group, he was responsible for a portfolio of companies in the United States, Spain, Holland and Australia. He previously worked in the nonprofit sector as a professor and administrator for a liberal arts college in Maryland.

Under his leadership, the Canadian MedicAlert Foundation worked with schools to launch "No Child Without," a program giving free MedicAlert memberships to children ages 4 to 14 with chronic medical conditions. Since November 2006, the foundation has enrolled 12,000 children in 1,500 schools in Canada.

There will be no income guidelines for the program when it's launched in Turlock. Children with chronic illnesses will be eligible.

The children get a free bracelet engraved with information about their condition and will have their medical information put on the MedicAlert database so it's available to medical personnel in an emergency.

There's no cost to the child's family. Charitable sponsors and donations from MedicAlert members support the program.

Kabat said it's natural to get schools involved because it can only make school staff more aware of children with medical issues. On a given day, students are under the supervision of several people, including teachers, school nurses or playground monitors.

MedicAlert may also try to partner with hospitals when it brings the program to Modesto, he said.

Kabat sees the free service as a way to broaden the nonprofit mission of the foundation. "Being known as the bracelet company isn't exactly the best way of explaining what we do," he said.

The CEO has taken the helm of a 52-year-old foundation with 2.3 million members in the United States and 4 million worldwide.

He holds a master's degree in business administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, master's and doctoral degrees from New York University and a bachelor's in philosophy from Washington College in Maryland.

Bee staff writer Ken Carlson can be reached at kcarlson@modbee.com or 578-2321.

This story was originally published April 22, 2008 at 3:08 AM with the headline "New MedicAlert CEO to start free services to kids with chronic illnesses."