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Lifeline
system is invaluable to elderly in emergency situations By Michelle Reagan Jefferson
City News Tribune, August 30, 2003
For decades, Dick Carbee saw second-hand the benefit of a Lifeline system. He and his wife Peg even championed the emergency communication system among their peers.
Lifeline consists of a lightweight, waterproof personal help button, which Peg now wears around her neck at all times. And a small, in-home communicator, which uses an ordinary telephone line, stays by their bedside. In an emergency, Peg may press the button and, within one minute, a Lifeline operator will respond through the two-way speaker. If Peg or Dick is too far away or unable to speak to the operator through the communicator, the operator will hang up and call their common phone number. If that too is ineffective in reaching the Carbees, the operator will contact the first of three responders listed. The Carbees asked their daughter, a neighbor and a close friend to be willing to respond if Lifeline called. Bonni Herman, the Lifeline coordinator at Capital Region Medical Center, said most friends and family are eager to be asked as a responder. As a last resort, or if the Carbees were to inform the operator of an emergency situation, the Lifeline operator would contact the public emergency responders. When Dick was institutionalized with a long-term health issue, he immediately had Peg sign up for Lifeline. Although he is home now, she has kept the service. And when she goes out for coffee with the girls, she hangs the button around Dick's neck. Currently, Lifeline serves about 290 subscribers in Mid-Missouri, from Holts Summit to Owensville and Linn to Versailles. Memorial and Still hospitals offered the service and consolidated it when they merged to become Capital Region. Other hospitals provide the service across most of the country, Herman said. And if someone lives an area without a local provider, the Lifeline company, based in Massachusetts, will deal with the subscriber directly, she said. "Such a simple piece of technology," Herman said. "That's why it works so well. "It's designed to keep people in their homes longer and safer." Many subscribers ask for Lifeline after they have experienced an emergency situation, Herman said. For instance, she noted, one lady lost her grip getting out of the bathtub and was left there for two days until someone checked in on her. Concerned children also frequently request the service for their parents. One family installed a Lifeline on Friday, and on Sunday the mother broke her hip, Herman recalled. Without the Lifeline instant communication, the woman may have had more severe outcome, she said. Other subscribers ask for the service as a proactive protection, Herman said. However, Medicare does not reimburse for Lifeline. Consider it as insurance, Herman said. "You'll have it in case you need it." But, Peg Carbee said, "We will handle the situation on our own first. "If we can't, then we'll (push the button)." Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging
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