Emergency response system eases elders’ safety concerns

A couple of months ago I fell in my home. While I am embarrassed to reveal how it happened – I tripped on my pajama bottoms – I realized, as I lay on the floor reassuring my cats that all was well, that emergency call systems are a very good idea. And, that stupid accidents can happen any time.

CallSafe, an emergency response system provided by St. Joseph Healthcare, can prevent the frightening feeling of being injured while alone. It puts peace of mind at your fingertips.

“I have fallen twice in the house over the last five or six years,” said Clara Swan, 91, who has had CallSafe for eight months. “I was able to get up, but if I was out in the yard I couldn’t have gotten up.”

The CallSafe system is affordable at $30 a month, plus a $30 installation fee. A small, battery-operated call button can be worn around the neck or on the wrist. A receiver box plugs into the phone jack, and the telephone plugs directly into the receiver box.

Though the initial set up is simple, CallSafe installer Stan McCall spends about 45 minutes with the client, explaining and testing the system until the client is comfortable with the device.

When the call button is pressed, the receiver box triggers an alert to the call center in Florida, which is staffed by specially trained operators. The client’s specific information – name, address, names and phone numbers of three emergency contacts and any medical conditions – shows up on the operator’s computer screen.

“Response time is less than 30 seconds, from the time the button is pushed until the operator’s voice comes over the receiver and asks if everything is all right,” said Dennis Dodge, service administrator for CallSafe.

“If the response center can hear the client, then they do what the client requests. But if the center can’t hear the client, the operator calls the first emergency contact, providing that person is close by,” Dodge said. “Otherwise, the operator makes a judgment call and gets an ambulance [to the residence]. The range of the receiver is about 100 feet.”

Units come with a lifetime warranty, free maintenance and a battery back-up system in case of power failure.

“Sometimes you see ads on television for this type of system offered by big companies out of state,” Dodge said. “But getting one locally, even if it may be a little more expensive, ensures proper service and maintenance of the equipment.”

CallSafe can be used as long as it is needed.

“There are no requirements at all to get CallSafe, and it doesn’t need a doctor’s orders,” said Dodge.

But even clients who recognize this need may be reluctant to press the call button.

“They tell me that they don’t want to be a bother to the call center operators,” he said. “I tell them: ‘You’re the reason they have a job. If you don’t use the service the operators could be out of work.’ When I say that, their attitude shifts and they don’t feel like a burden.”

Clients are encouraged to use the call button if they are not feeling well, hear a noise outside and are frightened or concerned, need the fire department, or are just lonely and want to hear a friendly voice. Operators are always willing to chat and provide a comforting ear.

But sometimes it’s not the client who makes the call.

“[My cat, Kitt] gets in my lap sometimes and lays on my chest,” said Swan. “She lay against the button and alerted the call center. They called immediately to ask if everything was OK. I think it’s great.”

CallSafe is available in all of eastern Maine. For more information, call Dodge at St. Joseph Hospital at 262-1195.

Carol Higgins is director of communications at Eastern Agency on Aging. For information in EAA, call 941-2865 or log on www.eaaa.org.