Help is Just a Call Away
By Judy Colbert
John Silberstein was worried about his 84-year-old mother, Nancy, and what he thought were diminishing cognitive and memory issues, due to mini-strokes. In November, he was making arrangements for her to take a COVID-19 test so she could take an upcoming cruise. She didn’t answer the phone. Nancy had fallen and couldn’t make it to her phone to call for help.
She eventually crawled to the door and began yelling when she heard someone get off the elevator. She gave the person the access number to her door and he entered, retrieved her phone, and called John who was able to get to her and take her to the emergency room. It had been nearly two hours since she had suffered the stroke that caused her to fall. Silberstein had asked her many times to install a panic button, but she’d never clicked on the links he sent her.
It’s a situation Silberstein hopes no loved one with a senior family member ever has to face: having an emergency and no one knowing about it.
Fortunately, there are several services available in Anne Arundel and Calvert counties that can prevent a similar tragedy from befalling seniors and the homebound. There are resources available across the region, from a program offering social interaction through regular phone calls to setting up a button on a cell phone to summon emergency services. Some charge a monthly fee and some are free.
Anne Arundel County has had a reassurance program since the 1990s, says Mary Chaput, the director of family caregiver support. “The original program started with a federal grant, and when that expired, the county Department of Aging and Disabilities decided to continue it.”
The Telephone Reassurance Program enlists volunteers to make between 30 and 45 friendly calls each in a 2.5-hour period, usually between 8 and 10:30 a.m. Volunteers call seniors (ages 55 and over) or an adult with a disability who is homebound and doesn’t have anyone to check on them.
The volunteers are provided a phone and the calls are made from their homes. They can volunteer for as few or as many shifts as they’d like. Often, friendships are created between client and volunteer, asking about the family pet or whether the client has appointments on the calendar.
Volunteers are always in demand. Men and women are welcome, although there’s only one man on the calling roster these days. Also, while volunteers can live anywhere, they prefer county residents.
Partners in Care Maryland offers a waterproof medical alert device that can be worn around the neck or on a wrist. The PIC Personal Emergency Response System offers several levels of service, from a daily (or less often) checkup call to a GPS-rigged system that works just about everywhere in the continental United States. Fall detection is also available and you do not have to be a PIC member to participate.
Janet Balcer of Pasadena worked at the Social Security Administration for 32 years before retiring. She loved her job, knowing she was helping people. Since 2015, she’s been a member and volunteer with Partners in Care, answering the emergency alerts.
Balcer says she was looking for something to do after retirement. “I’d lost my husband, then my mother, and then my mother-in-law. I’ve been a helper all my life. I like that I don’t have to commit to a certain number of days or hours. I volunteer as I can.”
In 2019, Maryland was the first state to offer this type of contact service. Senior Call Check involves a daily check-in call (landline, cell phone, or TTY) and is free to Maryland residents who are 65 or older. Three attempts will be made before contacting an emergency contact. A family member or trusted friend can be listed as a contact person, or the state will call the police to conduct a wellness check.
The Snug system is a smartphone app (iPhone or Android) that checks in on you daily (from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.) or up to three times a day. You open the app and push a green button. If you don’t check in, your emergency contact is notified via text message (free) or by phone call (dispatch plan). They can request that police (or fire or EMS) perform a welfare check if they can’t reach you or the emergency contact. The dispatch plan is $9.99 a month or $99 a year. It’s available in the United States and Puerto Rico.
Carrier Alert, sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers AFL-CIO, began in 1982 and is a program between mail carriers and community service organizations to monitor the wellbeing of the elderly and homebound. Local post offices can tell you if it is offered in your neighborhood. If so, you will register and allow a Carrier Alert symbol to be placed in your mailbox. This will notify the carrier to watch for an unusual accumulation of mail or other signs of distress, who will then notify a supervisor and your emergency contact person will be informed. A home safety check will be initiated if you can’t be located.
With so many resources in our region, there’s no reason for any senior to feel alone during an emergency.
BOX Resources:
Telephone Reassurance Program: https://www.aacounty.org/services-and-programs/telephone-reassurance-program or call 410-222-4375
Partners in Care: partnersincare.org, 8151-C Ritchie Hwy, Pasadena, 410-544-4800
Senior Call Check Program: https://aging.maryland.gov/pages/senior-call-check.aspx or call 866-502-0560
Snug Safety: https://snugsafe.com or call (844) 243-9110.
Carrier Alert: nalc.org/community-service/carrier-alert