One of the safeguards found in any senior citizens home is the emergency system. It may be electronic or even done by telephones placed strategically around apartments, but there always seem to be systems in place. One of these, and the easiest to understand, is the human factor. In any place, people are the first line of defense.
In my neighborhood, if we weren’t visible for a few days, someone may notice. In a senior’s residence, any unexplained absence throws shivers of concern through out the community. It was so in my mother’s apartment building, the Har Sinai House, in Baltimore.
She had two switches on the floor, low on the wall in the living room and one in the bedroom, so if she fell, she could switch on the switch and a light would illuminate at the switchboard letting someone know there was a problem in her apartment. The most immediate problem I perceived when she moved in was that this system only worked if you fell in either of these two areas, and you were near, or could crawl to, the switch. This was not a realistic choice, but it was what was available. She moved in about 1977, as I remember, and lived in that apartment until her death in 1997.
When she first moved in at 67, we weren’t worried about her falling, so it really wasn’t a concern.
Sometime in maybe the early 90’s, my mother was not answering her phone. This was not a concern at first, as she may have gone out. As the day continued, my Aunt, the closest person to my mother, got more concerned and late in the evening, with no answer, the switch in her head went off! There must be something wrong, because even if she was out all day, she would never be out all night! Something had gone wrong!
At about midnight, as the story goes, my Aunt appeared at the door of the Har Sinai House and demanded that the night manager come up with her to the apartment to view the body, for surely there was something major wrong! My Aunt had the key but didn’t want to enter the apartment by herself.
They broke down the door (OK, they opened the door) to find my mother, her hair in curlers, sitting and quietly watching television. She was, of course, scared to death.
She had a headache the night before and turned off the phone bell, and forgot to turn it on again!
In my neighborhood, if we weren’t visible for a few days, someone may notice. In a senior’s residence, any unexplained absence throws shivers of concern through out the community. It was so in my mother’s apartment building, the Har Sinai House, in Baltimore.
She had two switches on the floor, low on the wall in the living room and one in the bedroom, so if she fell, she could switch on the switch and a light would illuminate at the switchboard letting someone know there was a problem in her apartment. The most immediate problem I perceived when she moved in was that this system only worked if you fell in either of these two areas, and you were near, or could crawl to, the switch. This was not a realistic choice, but it was what was available. She moved in about 1977, as I remember, and lived in that apartment until her death in 1997.
When she first moved in at 67, we weren’t worried about her falling, so it really wasn’t a concern.
Sometime in maybe the early 90’s, my mother was not answering her phone. This was not a concern at first, as she may have gone out. As the day continued, my Aunt, the closest person to my mother, got more concerned and late in the evening, with no answer, the switch in her head went off! There must be something wrong, because even if she was out all day, she would never be out all night! Something had gone wrong!
At about midnight, as the story goes, my Aunt appeared at the door of the Har Sinai House and demanded that the night manager come up with her to the apartment to view the body, for surely there was something major wrong! My Aunt had the key but didn’t want to enter the apartment by herself.
They broke down the door (OK, they opened the door) to find my mother, her hair in curlers, sitting and quietly watching television. She was, of course, scared to death.
She had a headache the night before and turned off the phone bell, and forgot to turn it on again!
After she recovered from the shock of the dynamic duo crashing through the door, she was glad that someone did recognize her absence!
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