First Responders Update

Life alerts! This is such an important topic to discuss. I implore each of you who live alone to invest in some form of life alerts. You never know when you might fall or have an emergency when your phone isn’t nearby. 

We see it way too often out here when someone is on the floor for HOURS, unable to move or call for help. You lose nothing by having a life alert. You could lose your life without one.  

If you have an Amazon Alexa, you can sync it with your contacts in your phone. If you have the First Responders number saved in your phone, all you have to do is command Alexa to call First Responders. There are many ways you can protect yourself if you live alone, and these are just a couple of examples. 

Speaking of living alone, make sure you meet all of your neighbors. Let them know your routine, and give one of them a key to your house. We have to look out for each other. I live on a very small court, and I know all of them and their routines. If something seems off, it probably is. 

If you see newspapers piling up on your neighbor’s driveway, call Security for a welfare check. Again, you lose nothing by being proactive. We have to pay attention to our surroundings. If you have a neighbor who routinely is up early and the newspaper is always gone by a certain time, but you notice it’s there in the afternoon, knock on their door. Be a good neighbor. 

Being stubborn is an attribute that I’m not proud of, to say the least. Like most of you, I don’t like to ask for help. That said, when you live alone and don’t have someone checking in every day, you need to have a village to lean and depend on. 

If you have an older neighbor that you don’t know and it’s obvious to you that they live alone, step up, introduce yourself and give them your number so that they can call you if they need help. It can literally save someone’s life if you simply pay attention. Too often, we find elderly patients who’ve been on the floor for hours, sometimes days, because no one paid attention. 

Please continue to social distance and wear masks. We will hopefully see the light at the end of the tunnel regarding COVID-19 soon! We have to stay vigilant until that happens.  

Happy fall, y’all!