A button to save your bacon

This was the first time in her life Florence would be living alone. She was worried about who could help her if she fell or needed help, but she had a plan.

The only question was finding a provider and figuring out which Personal Emergency Response System would work best in her home.

In a recent interview with Susan Wickey of Premier Alert Systems and her client who goes by Florence, Susan said that she was impressed with Florence’s pro active decision.

“Most people wait until after a fall or accident to learn about Personal Emergency Response Systems, despite how long the safety systems, usually shown as a button that you push when you fall, have been around.”

Florence explained she believes that anybody who lives alone should have a way to get help. She said that she sees the device which is a monthly rental, is like car insurance.

“You need to have it, but if you don’t need it, that is great,” Florence said.

Florence was familiar with systems that use phone service to obtain help from her work as a healthcare provider.

Prior to her own retirement, she had often recommended them. She was even on many people’s phone lists to be notified in case the button was activated. She didn’t need to experience a fall or medical emergency herself to know that anything can happen to any person.

When her husband passed away and she no longer had someone to rely on to get help, she knew what would make her safer.

Florence chose to call Premier Alert Systems because she heard that Susan made house calls and she wanted to support a local company. Susan went to her home and helped her figure out what type of device would best meet her needs. There are several options to think about. The systems can be used with land lines or cellular signal. A person needs to consider how the switch or button is worn. Some devices are activated only by pushing the button while others can also self activate by detecting a fall. When Florence chose her options, Susan went back and installed the equipment. The personal touch was what Florence was looking for.

“This was so much better for me than just getting a box of equipment in the mail,” Florence said.

Susan said that every customer is different and that going into the home helps her evaluate the environment her customer is using.

She is glad to provide options like cell based service, GPS, lock boxes, and/or fall detection, but not if it is something that wouldn’t work well for that person. She uses the home visit to confirm that the pendant or button that a person wears can communicate with the base station from every point in a person’s home.

When the alert system is activated, a person from a 24 hour call center can see the name and recorded details about the person. They call out first through a speaker phone that is part of the base. If there is no response a 911 call is placed. Florence explained she also provided a list of people who should be notified.

Susan added that she counsels customers to make sure that a person on the list has a medical power of attorney. That way someone can insure a person’s wishes are known if necessary. Susan can add other helpful information to the notes the responder provides to 911 such as a lock box code to make it easier for emergency crews to enter the home. Florence uses stairs to the garage so her file includes a note to look in the stairwell if she isn’t in her home.

Since getting her alert system almost 6 years ago, Florence has used it two times for emergencies. One of those times she had fainted. When she awoke she was on the floor. She could hear the call center operator calling her name, but she couldn’t speak loudly enough to be heard herself.

She was comforted that “before she knew it, 911 responders were coming into the room.”

When asked if she ever accidentally pushed it, she laughed and said she had. She was exercising and accidentally activated it. When she heard the call center operator calling her name from the base, she said she was OK and what she was doing. They both had a good laugh about her being on the floor on purpose and it wasn’t a big deal.

Florence believed in personal emergency response systems enough to encourage their use when she was working. It seemed natural to her to make sure she had one in place for herself just in case anything happened.

She shared, “It is well worth it for the peace of mind for me and my family and it has saved my bacon a few times.”

Volunteers needed for research study

The Aging Brain and Emotion Lab at the University of Nebraska at Omaha is looking for healthy adults and caregivers to an older adult with a chronic disease (e.g., dementia, cancer, cardiovascular disease) to participate in a research study.

Participating in this study will involve an online, at home component (7 hours over 4 days), and one in person visit (2 hours, 30 minutes), which will take place at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC).

Compensation for study participation is available.

The experiment involves completing online questionnaires, interview and computer tasks, taking samples of saliva for hormone analyses, blood draws for DNA methylation analyses and undergoing brain imaging.

To be eligible for the study, you must be 19-90 years of age, have comprehension of written and spoken English, mobility to travel to the UNO campus, and have completed a minimum of two years of high school or higher.

You are not eligible for the study if you have a diagnosis of a neurological or psychiatric disease (e.g., stroke), history of drug abuse, vision, hearing, cognitive or motor difficulties, or if you are currently pregnant, have metal implanted in your body, or are taking an antidepressant medication or glucocorticoid-based oral medication or cream (e.g., cortisone).

For more information about the study, please contact: Janelle Beadle, Ph.D. at the Aging Brain and Emotion Lab (402554-5961) or by email at (ABELabUNO@ gmail.com).

Ralston Senior Center

You’re invited to visit the Ralston Senior Center, 7301

Q St., Suite 100 this month for the following:

• May 3, 17 & 24: Bingo

@ 12:15 p.m.

• May 5, 12, 19 & 26: Double deck @ 9:30 a.m.

• May 10: Board meeting

@ 10 a.m.

• May 10: Book club @

1:30 p.m.

• May 11: Bingo @ 1 p.m.

• May 25: Bingo @ 1 p.m.

• May 31: The Merrymakers present music by Mark Sanford @ noon

Lift Chairs

• April 27: Bingo@ 1 p.m.

Lunch is catered in on Wednesdays @ 11:30 a.m. A $5 contribution is normally suggested for the meal. Reservations are due by noon on Tuesday. Play games and bingo after lunch. Contact Diane @ 402-885-8895 for reservations.

The Ralston Senior Center will host a double deck pinochle every Friday from 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Obtain an annual Ralston Senior Center membership for $10.

Contact Ron Wilson @ 402-734-3421 for further information.

The center may be used on weekends and evenings for various activities such as weddings, memorial services, anniversaries, family reunions, birthdays, baby shower, wedding showers, etc.

For more information, please call Darla @ 402651-5009 or 402-331-1529.

Tech Tip

Maximize your phone’s ion-lithium battery life by following these tips:

• Do partial charging avoid full charge cycles (0-100%) and overnight charging. Charge your phone when you have used about half the charge and end charging at 80-90%.

• Avoid idle charges—do not charge overnight or in a cradle during the day.

• Avoid parasitic loads draining the battery significantly at the same time as being charged.

Mental Health Forum

May is Mental Health Awareness Month.

A Mental Health Matters Forum will be held at Pacific Hills Lutheran Church, 1110 South 90th Street, on Wednesday, May 10 at 7 pm.

The Kim Foundation will give a presentation on how to maintain mental health, information on mental illness and suicide prevention.

Providers from Community Alliance, Lutheran Family Services, NAMI, and Alanon will have information booths. Learn about mental health and resources in our community.

Mental Health Matters every day.

For questions contact Marilyn Wegehaupt, 402334-2896