Cone Hospital review [November-December, 1983]

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THE MOSES H. CONE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
Lifeline Begins
Hospital Offers Independence and Dignity to Elderly
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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
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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