PSA: Elderly/single check-in

[pb4uski]

I just wanted to share something that we have been doing with a widowed friend that has worked well and gives us all some peace of mind.

It all started last December when a neighbor who was a single guy was found dead in his condo after a few days. He had not shown up for a meeting and some friends went to check on him.

We have a widow friend who lives alone. We set up a "check-in" text with her and four other people where she is to text us "ok" each morning... though often it is some emoji like a sun for a good day or an umbrella for a rainy day. If we don't get an ok from her by 10am then we call or stop by or otherwise chase her down. I set up a reminder on my phone for 10am each morning "Has [name] checked in today?".

The system works well. There have been a couple times where she forgot to check in and I called and she answered and didn't even say hello but just answered "Gosh, I forgot".

It is simple to set up and only takes a few seconds a day and gives us all peace of mind that she isn't in trouble.

 

[latexman]

That is excellent!

 

[pacergal]

Yes, always a good idea. We did this with an elderly neighbor years ago.

 

[MarieIG]

Great idea Pb4uski!

 

[DektolMan]

Excellent idea!

 

[badatmath]

I hope someone has a key to get in? The police generally won't break in. In our case, we knew the lady did not lock the patio door and yes it was too late.

But it is an awesome idea for you all to check on them.

 

[pb4uski]

^^^ Good point. For her Florida condo the maintenance guy has keys to every unit and I have a key to the maintenance guy's office. For her summer home I don't think she locks the door but I will ask her.

I'd hate to break a door or window only to find out that she wasn't there but was a-ok.

With the guy that died, I'm told that they could see him on the floor through a sliding glass door window (ground floor unit) and that the fire dept used a crowbar to force the sliding glass door open.

 

[oldphd]

A friend of ours elderly widowed father started sending an e-mail to his kids every morning when he was living alone, and continued it after moving into an assisted living facility.

He referred to it as his "I'm not dead YET!" e-mail.

He lived well into his 90s, and towards the end he would forget to send the e-mail now and then, but since he was in a facility they knew he was being checked on. When he missed one, the kids would take turns being the one to call him...

 

[Midpack]

Like others have said, excellent idea, ain’t technology grand!

 

[Chuckanut]

I had a neighbor who fell, seriously hurt himself and spent almost two days on the floor of his home. He was the type of fellow that did not go out much and when he did he was so shy he never looked people in the eye or chatted with anybody. So few of his neighbors new much about him.

He was saved when an Amazon delivery guy delivering to another unit next to him thought he heard a cry for help. After alerting a few neighbors, they called the police and the decision was made to break into the house. He spent a few days in the hospital, and then went to live with a son who lives out of state. He never returned to his home. But, he did survive.

Thanks PB4 for reminding us to take this simple was very useful precaution.

FWIW, I broke down and blew some dough to purchase an Apple Watch with Fall Detection. If I fall and don't respond in a short time that I am OK, it alerts several nearby friends and calls 911 in my area. I do wish I could test it without throwing myself down the stairs.

 

[youbet]

I just wanted to share something that we have been doing with a widowed friend that has worked well and gives us all some peace of mind.

It all started last December when a neighbor who was a single guy was found dead in his condo after a few days. He had not shown up for a meeting and some friends went to check on him.

We have a widow friend who lives alone. We set up a "check-in" text with her and four other people where she is to text us "ok" each morning... though often it is some emoji like a sun for a good day or an umbrella for a rainy day. If we don't get an ok from her by 10am then we call or stop by or otherwise chase her down. I set up a reminder on my phone for 10am each morning "Has [name] checked in today?".

The system works well. There have been a couple times where she forgot to check in and I called and she answered and didn't even say hello but just answered "Gosh, I forgot".

It is simple to set up and only takes a few seconds a day and gives us all peace of mind that she isn't in trouble.

"Check-in" systems have been popular in communities with significant percentages of us geezers for a long time. They're a great idea! I recall that while my dad was living alone in a single family house in a community in northern Arkansas popular with retirees, he and 2 neighbors set up a "check-in" system. Each could see the other two houses from their own. In the morning, a certain curtain needed to be opened by a certain time or a phone call would result. This was before texting/email and I was impressed by the simple ingenuity.

 

[badatmath]

^^^ Good point. For her Florida condo the maintenance guy has keys to every unit and I have a key to the maintenance guy's office. For her summer home I don't think she locks the door but I will ask her.

I'd hate to break a door or window only to find out that she wasn't there but was a-ok.

With the guy that died, I'm told that they could see him on the floor through a sliding glass door window (ground floor unit) and that the fire dept used a crowbar to force the sliding glass door open.

Right I think if they can see a problem it is a-ok. But if all the blinds are drawn it is going to at the very least, take more time and effort to convince them to get in.

 

[Lewis Clark]

FWIW, I broke down and blew some dough to purchase an Apple Watch with Fall Detection. If I fall and don't respond in a short time that I am OK, it alerts several nearby friends and calls 911 in my area. I do wish I could test it without throwing myself down the stairs.

Wrap the watch in some padding and throw the watch down the stairs. But tell your friends about the test ahead of time. : )

 

[F.I.R.E User]

Doesn’t Medicare have this benefit to check in?

 

[audreyh1]

FWIW, I broke down and blew some dough to purchase an Apple Watch with Fall Detection. If I fall and don't respond in a short time that I am OK, it alerts several nearby friends and calls 911 in my area. I do wish I could test it without throwing myself down the stairs.

DH tripped on something that I had so carefully moved out of his way. He had a pretty good fall onto grassy lawn thank goodness, no injuries. The watch fall detection worked!

Wrap the watch in some padding and throw the watch down the stairs. But tell your friends about the test ahead of time. : )

The watch knows whether or not it’s on your wrist.

 

[Route246]

Every household in Japan has a hot water pot for making tea. One manufacturer, Zojirushi makes a device called i-Pot which is a hot water pot ingeniously connected to the local cellular network. Every time someone dispenses hot water a signal is sent to a database so that the concerned people (usually children of elderly parents living remotely) get an update on their smartphone. Every senior in Japan makes tea every morning. It is as ritualistic as some of us Americans making coffee in the morning. This device charges about US$28/month for the cellular connection.

I suspect something similar could be rigged with the refrigerator here, given how "smart" some of them are now.

Attached a promo photo.

 

[tmm99]

OP, it's great that you're doing this for your neighbours/friends!

 

[F.I.R.E User]

Perhaps insurance companies can setup an A.I bot to do this.

 

[ShadowBloom]

There are automated check in services available, using email, an app, or phone call. Google "elderly check in service" and you'll find a bunch, like https://www.snugsafe.com/. I haven't used any of these yet, but think it's likely I will when I'm somewhat older, as I live alone and don't have anyone I could ask to do the checkins like you are.

 

[Koolau]

What a great, thoughtful service to your friend. Blessings on you pb4uski.

 

[PatrickA5]

FWIW, I broke down and blew some dough to purchase an Apple Watch with Fall Detection. If I fall and don't respond in a short time that I am OK, it alerts several nearby friends and calls 911 in my area. I do wish I could test it without throwing myself down the stairs.

I've had a couple of "trips" and my Apple Watch worked. It'll say something like "I see that you might have fallen" - press this button if you need help or cancel if you're OK". Eventually, I think it calls 911 if no response.

 

[badatmath]

I really like the idea of an app but the paranoid part of me sort of wonders if it is spying on me somehow in a creepy way. I can't even quite articulate how other than it would associate me to other contacts and possibly realize what time I get up in the morning!