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r evi e w @ THE MOSES H. CONE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA Lifeline Begins Hospital Offers Independence and Dignity to Elderly mgammm Community volunteers train Lifeline clients to use the emergency response service. Our community may be turning gray, but the future is looking brighter for our aging population. Lifeline, an emergency response program which will help elderly and disabled individuals to live independently in their own homes, begins at The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital in December. During the hospital's future planning process, our management staff, health care and medical professionals have become increasingly aware of the difficulties experienced by our aging citizens. Demographic studies indicate that Americans today are outliving former generations by several years, and in 1980, our senior citizens began to outnumber our children under age ten. The number of persons age 65 and older living in Guilford County between 1970 and 1980 grew in excess of 35 percent. It is predicted that, between 1980 and 2000, the number of adults age 65 and over in North Carolina will increase by more than 70 percent, and this age group will constitute 13 percent of our state's population; and by the year 2020,17 percent of the nation's population will be over 65. Five year studies (1975-1980) at the Moses H.Cone Memorial Hospital reflect more than a ten percent increase in geriatric patients admitted here during that time. Back in 1975, anthropologist Margaret Mead said, "The modern family, in its present form, is not equipped to care for old persons." At Moses Cone Hospital, we are aware that needs are far greater for this group than other age groups. Increased need for medical care is intensified because these persons usually have fixed incomes which are lower than incomes of younger age groups. According to government statistics, about one- third of our elderly are confined to wheel chairs. Loss of sensory ability frequently accompanies aging. Often retired, widowed, or both, most aging persons fear loss of independence and dignity. Early this year, Moses Cone Hospital convened a community meeting to examine the potential for instituting an emergency response program in Greensboro. Interested groups represented at this meeting included the Junior League of Greensboro, the Junior Woman's Club of Greensboro, United Services for Older Adults, The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and members of the hospital's own staff. In view of documented need and encouraged by these community representatives, Moses Cone Hospital made a commitment to sponsor the Lifeline Systems, Inc. program. How Does the Program Work? Lifeline is a personal emergency response program for frail elderly and handicapped persons who live alone. The program is designed to provide reassurance to the users REVIEW November-December, 1983 ® INSIDE: Home Health Care Program Proposed.. .3 Nurse is Deep Sea Diver 4 and their families that help is available when needed. Three components are essential to the efficiency of this program. First, Lifeline electronic equipment is interfaced with a telephone in the user's home. A small remote beeper is carried in the user's pocket or clipped to a belt. Pressing the portable button activates the home unit which automatically dials the Emergency Response Center, located in the Emergency Room at Moses Cone Hospital. As calls are received in the 24-hour Emergency Response Center, hospital staff members and volunteer workers attempt to reach the subscriber by telephone. If contact is not made, the hospital alerts one or more members of a network of friends, neighbors or relatives who live near the subscriber, all of whom have previously agreed to respond to calls for help. Working together, either the responder or the hospital initiates appropriate action. An automatic feature allows the equipment to be activated by a timer if the user is unable to press the remote control button. The small, wireless beeper has a range of 200 feet. It works even if the telephone receiver is off the hook, and resets itself after each call. Subscribers also receive periodic calls from the center to make certain they are okay and that the equipment is working properly. Subscribers who are approved for participation in the program pay a $10 monthly subscription fee. This fee covers the cost of operations, but not the cost of the equipment necessary to initiate and maintain the program. The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital has provided $20,000 in seed money to fund the program, as well as the commitment to be the permanent home for the program and to provide emergency response services. A community fund raising drive will be held for additional funds needed to finance the purchase of the great amount of equipment necessary to meet the anticipated needs of users in this area. The Background of Lifeline Lifeline Systems, Inc. was founded in 1974 by Andrew S. Dibner, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Psychology at Boston University and an expert in the problems of the elderly population. He was assisted in the development of the program by his wife, Susan S. Dibner, Ph.D., a sociologist. A three year study of the Lifeline System was conducted by the Department of Social Gerontological Research of the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged. The $640,000 research study was funded by the Department of Health and Human Services. Researchers in this project concluded that personal emergency response programs improve the quality of life of frail elderly while reducing the cost of long term care. Specifics include: (1) Lifeline users felt more comfortable about living alone and more confident about continuing to live independently. In addition, Lifeline users slept better and were more satisfied with their living situation and their lives in general. (2) Lifeline postponed nursing home care for its users. (3) For the largest group of Lifeline users (several functionally disabled and not socially isolated) each $1 of Lifeline Services produced a net saving of $7.19 in total long-term care costs due to reduced use of institutional and community services. How to Subscribe to Lifeline The hospital expects that many persons will be referred for Lifeline Services by physicians, who are familiar with the needs of their elderly or disabled patients. However, social agencies or a family member may also apply directly to Moses Cone Hospital for services through this emergency response program. Screening criteria is simply based on the user's ability to use the equipment effectively. Available Lifeline equipment will be leased on a first-come basis. The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital has once again recognized a community need, and, with the Lifeline Program, is meeting that need in a professional and cost effective manner. Concern for the people in our community is a tradition at Moses Cone Hospital. We care. REVIEW Moses Cone Hospital 1200 North Elm Street Greensboro, North Carolina 27401-1020 Address Correction Requested Non Profit Org. Bulk Rate U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 195 Greensboro, N.C. Penny Thomas, of WFMY Television Station in Greensboro, interviews nurses Jo Bell and Penny Kingsbury upon their return from Russia. See page 5. Carolyn Ford, Editor
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Transcript | r evi e w @ THE MOSES H. CONE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA Lifeline Begins Hospital Offers Independence and Dignity to Elderly mgammm Community volunteers train Lifeline clients to use the emergency response service. Our community may be turning gray, but the future is looking brighter for our aging population. Lifeline, an emergency response program which will help elderly and disabled individuals to live independently in their own homes, begins at The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital in December. During the hospital's future planning process, our management staff, health care and medical professionals have become increasingly aware of the difficulties experienced by our aging citizens. Demographic studies indicate that Americans today are outliving former generations by several years, and in 1980, our senior citizens began to outnumber our children under age ten. The number of persons age 65 and older living in Guilford County between 1970 and 1980 grew in excess of 35 percent. It is predicted that, between 1980 and 2000, the number of adults age 65 and over in North Carolina will increase by more than 70 percent, and this age group will constitute 13 percent of our state's population; and by the year 2020,17 percent of the nation's population will be over 65. Five year studies (1975-1980) at the Moses H.Cone Memorial Hospital reflect more than a ten percent increase in geriatric patients admitted here during that time. Back in 1975, anthropologist Margaret Mead said, "The modern family, in its present form, is not equipped to care for old persons." At Moses Cone Hospital, we are aware that needs are far greater for this group than other age groups. Increased need for medical care is intensified because these persons usually have fixed incomes which are lower than incomes of younger age groups. According to government statistics, about one- third of our elderly are confined to wheel chairs. Loss of sensory ability frequently accompanies aging. Often retired, widowed, or both, most aging persons fear loss of independence and dignity. Early this year, Moses Cone Hospital convened a community meeting to examine the potential for instituting an emergency response program in Greensboro. Interested groups represented at this meeting included the Junior League of Greensboro, the Junior Woman's Club of Greensboro, United Services for Older Adults, The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and members of the hospital's own staff. In view of documented need and encouraged by these community representatives, Moses Cone Hospital made a commitment to sponsor the Lifeline Systems, Inc. program. How Does the Program Work? Lifeline is a personal emergency response program for frail elderly and handicapped persons who live alone. The program is designed to provide reassurance to the users REVIEW November-December, 1983 ® INSIDE: Home Health Care Program Proposed.. .3 Nurse is Deep Sea Diver 4 and their families that help is available when needed. Three components are essential to the efficiency of this program. First, Lifeline electronic equipment is interfaced with a telephone in the user's home. A small remote beeper is carried in the user's pocket or clipped to a belt. Pressing the portable button activates the home unit which automatically dials the Emergency Response Center, located in the Emergency Room at Moses Cone Hospital. As calls are received in the 24-hour Emergency Response Center, hospital staff members and volunteer workers attempt to reach the subscriber by telephone. If contact is not made, the hospital alerts one or more members of a network of friends, neighbors or relatives who live near the subscriber, all of whom have previously agreed to respond to calls for help. Working together, either the responder or the hospital initiates appropriate action. An automatic feature allows the equipment to be activated by a timer if the user is unable to press the remote control button. The small, wireless beeper has a range of 200 feet. It works even if the telephone receiver is off the hook, and resets itself after each call. Subscribers also receive periodic calls from the center to make certain they are okay and that the equipment is working properly. Subscribers who are approved for participation in the program pay a $10 monthly subscription fee. This fee covers the cost of operations, but not the cost of the equipment necessary to initiate and maintain the program. The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital has provided $20,000 in seed money to fund the program, as well as the commitment to be the permanent home for the program and to provide emergency response services. A community fund raising drive will be held for additional funds needed to finance the purchase of the great amount of equipment necessary to meet the anticipated needs of users in this area. The Background of Lifeline Lifeline Systems, Inc. was founded in 1974 by Andrew S. Dibner, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Psychology at Boston University and an expert in the problems of the elderly population. He was assisted in the development of the program by his wife, Susan S. Dibner, Ph.D., a sociologist. A three year study of the Lifeline System was conducted by the Department of Social Gerontological Research of the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged. The $640,000 research study was funded by the Department of Health and Human Services. Researchers in this project concluded that personal emergency response programs improve the quality of life of frail elderly while reducing the cost of long term care. Specifics include: (1) Lifeline users felt more comfortable about living alone and more confident about continuing to live independently. In addition, Lifeline users slept better and were more satisfied with their living situation and their lives in general. (2) Lifeline postponed nursing home care for its users. (3) For the largest group of Lifeline users (several functionally disabled and not socially isolated) each $1 of Lifeline Services produced a net saving of $7.19 in total long-term care costs due to reduced use of institutional and community services. How to Subscribe to Lifeline The hospital expects that many persons will be referred for Lifeline Services by physicians, who are familiar with the needs of their elderly or disabled patients. However, social agencies or a family member may also apply directly to Moses Cone Hospital for services through this emergency response program. Screening criteria is simply based on the user's ability to use the equipment effectively. Available Lifeline equipment will be leased on a first-come basis. The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital has once again recognized a community need, and, with the Lifeline Program, is meeting that need in a professional and cost effective manner. Concern for the people in our community is a tradition at Moses Cone Hospital. We care. REVIEW Moses Cone Hospital 1200 North Elm Street Greensboro, North Carolina 27401-1020 Address Correction Requested Non Profit Org. Bulk Rate U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 195 Greensboro, N.C. Penny Thomas, of WFMY Television Station in Greensboro, interviews nurses Jo Bell and Penny Kingsbury upon their return from Russia. See page 5. Carolyn Ford, Editor |