You have permission to publish this article electronically
or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are
included. A courtesy copy of your publication would
be
appreciated
- send to:
How to Improve Emergency Situations With
Elderly
Healthcare Alert Report - It’s no secret that the aging
population
is on an increase. And it’s no secret that more adult
children
will be facing the challenges of caring for their
elderly
relatives, many of whom live in fear of living alone
safely.
What is a mystery to some, though, is that as aging
issues
become more a part of everyday life, what is being done
to help?
And what can be done?
So far,
many leave safety up to the elderly themselves. However,
this posses
many challenges. For example, take into account
three
recent news cases.
FALLS - The
first involved a 90-year-old woman found dead
outside her
home, at the bottom of a rock wall. Her nephew found
her, and
surmised that she had probably gone out looking for her
cat in the
evening and fallen, as her glasses were lying atop
the wall.
And unfortunately temperatures had dropped into single
digits that
night.
CARBON
MONOXIDE POISONING - In the second case, ‘Weird Al’
Yankovic found
his parents dead in their California home due to
carbon
monoxide poisoning. His dad was found in a chair, mother
in on the
bathroom floor, a wood fire had been recently going,
the flue
found closed.
FIRE - And
in the third case, an 89-year-old man was found dead
amidst a
house fire in San Diego. He was known to often smoke
cigars
while relaxing in the part of the house were he was
discovered.
In many
cases, like the three above, home safety systems may
have been
able to prevent early deaths
"Home safety
systems are a great low cost option for families to
consider,”
said Steve Rowin, owner of Widescope security
systems.
“They preserve the independence that seniors want while
providing
safety and peace of mind for their family."
Widescope
Security Systems provides the G.E. Caregard home
safety
system nationwide. And with the U.S. population age 65
and over
expected to double in size within the next 25 years, as
reported by
the U.S. Census Bureau (SeniorJournal.com 2005),
that’s
important. In fact that translates to 1-out-of-5
Americans —
or approximately 72 million people — aging by 2030
and in
possible need of help in emergency situations, but not
getting it.
Especially for those aged 85 and older, the fastest
growing segment
of the U.S. population, life threatening
situations
need to be taken more seriously.
For more
information on safety systems, call: (866) 736-8148 or
visit
Widescope security systems online at
http://www.EmergencyMonitoringSystems.com
.
-30-
By Diana Barnum, of Moving Ahead Communications. Subscribe
to her blog for Free Marketing, Public Relations and Writing
tips at:
http://movingaheadblog.com or call: (614) 529-9459