Given the crowds, security demands and canceled flights, airports are often challenging places for everyone. For travelers with intellectual or developmental conditions, memory loss or mental health issues, however, navigating an airport can be daunting and even dangerous.
But on Wednesday, officials at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport announced that its police department is deploying new technology — the Vitals App — to make the travel experience easier for passengers with mental or physical challenges.
MSP is the first airport in the United States to adopt the technology, which is being used by more than 50 law enforcement agencies nationwide, including at least two dozen in the Twin Cities metro area.
Here's how it works: A person with physical, behavioral, mental or developmental conditions, or their caregiver, downloads the app and creates a profile that includes a photo, behavior triggers, current medications, and de-escalation cues and techniques.
The app's Bluetooth feature will ping airport police officers when they're within 80 feet of the individual with the app. Or the person may carry a small Bluetooth transmitter called a "beacon" — a keychain, necklace, debit card or bracelet token instead of a phone —that alerts officers in the same manner. If the individual has a crisis, police will know immediately what the problem is and how to respond.
Janeé Harteau, president and CEO of Twin Cities-based Vitals Aware Services, called the technology a "game-changer" at Wednesday's news conference.
Harteau, the former Minneapolis police chief, said the technology provides "a voice and independence to the millions of people needing advocacy, transparency and, most importantly, a safer outcome when they face an emergency situation."
For example, Harteau said it's difficult for officers and emergency responders to tell if someone is having a diabetic episode or merely intoxicated.
