Hello, is there anyone there?

With developments in technology, PERS (personal emergency response systems) are improving. But it remains that the most significant part of personal emergency response systems is the actual emergency response. Quality intervention impacts outcomes and time is of the essence. So many don’t ever use it. In an emergency response situation, too many are asking, “Hello, is anyone there?”

Wikipedia describes a timeframe in medical intervention as the “Golden Hour.” The general concept of the golden hour is that in trauma, the response is time-sensitive. It’s widely believed that the sooner intervention is rendered, the better the outcome will be.

In cases of a possible stroke, for example, Mayo Clinic states, “Call 911 or your local emergency number right away. Don’t wait to see if symptoms stop. Every minute counts.”

It has been reported that some emergency response companies do not provide stay-on-the-line services for their customers. We find that unbelievable and even unconscionable! Imagine your Dad asking for help because he thinks he’s having a heart attack. With the fear, the concern and the pain he’s experiencing at that moment, he should never be on the other end of a disconnected call. He should not be left alone to wait for help. We wouldn’t want that for our Dad, and we won’t accept it for yours. So, who is answering that call?

When Mom uses her system, who will answer?

One of the most significant, but perhaps most overlooked aspects of emergency intervention, is who answers the emergency response call? Hopefully, you’ve never had to make an emergency call and have a seemingly uninterested party answer on the other end. You need assistance, and the moment you are experiencing is stressful, high energy, and perhaps even dangerous. Your health, your property, or even your life or someone else’s could be on the line. You need a calm, educated person on the other side of a crisis.

We believe the help should come from someone on the other end of the call who is thoroughly qualified. We all want responders trained in the areas that will most likely affect the one calling. How will a responder know what to do if they don’t understand what low blood sugar or chest pain or a head cut from a fall can imply? None of us would want an inexperienced person trying to help our loved one during an emergency response. That’s just common sense. Talking to someone who is merely flipping through a chart to find symptoms isn’t comforting, smart, or safe. We all want — no, need — quality in our emergency response operator.

Operators simply didn’t answer the calls

A CNN article about a family suing for unanswered calls highlights the necessity of being able to trust those handling your situation. “These Emergency Operators unbelievably and alarmingly decided to turn off the 911 dispatch phone so that they did not have to do the job they had sworn and gotten paid to do; one dispatcher stating she did so because she was having a bad day,” the lawsuit reads. “Her day was not as bad as one of these endangered citizens, Mr. Stephen Greene, who went into emergent cardiac arrest and relied on 911 emergency services to save his life.”

Health issues can be challenging, but what about safety?

Every day in the news there are stories of people being attacked by animals, strangers, even their own family members. The prevailing thought as we dismiss this possibility in our minds is, we would pick up our cell phones, call, and get help. Right?

SDM Magazine asked Josh Garner, CEO of Freeus, why end-users can’t just use their phones to make a call for help. Garner gave four good reasons to stick with PERS products. His response was included in a May 2015 article, 4 Reasons a Cellphone Is Not Better Than PERS, and it still is applicable truth today.

• Mobile phones cannot be used in the shower. Still, some mobile PERS, are shower-safe, enabling two-way voice communication wherever the user goes where there is cellular coverage. The bathroom is one of the most dangerous rooms in the home for seniors. According to the National Institute of Health, more than one in three people aged 65 years or older fall each year, with the bathroom being the most common location for falls.
• Cell phones generally need to be charged daily, sometimes even more, but there are mobile PERS devices that feature a rechargeable battery that can go up to two months between charges. With so many things for seniors to remember, from taking various medications to charging different electronics, a low-maintenance mobile PERS device with a very long battery life is one less thing for seniors to worry about and makes life easier.

Garner also noted PERS ease of use:

• Mobile PERS are very simple to use. A cell phone requires pressing multiple buttons in an emergency, but a mobile PERS device only needs one button to be pressed to be connected via two-way voice with an emergency care specialist.
• With mobile PERS, call center specialists know who the user is right away. When a cell phone is used to dial 911, the 911 operator does not know who the user is or any of their medical information. Mobile PERS devices can show care specialists information about the user and user-provided medical information, including allergies, medications and preferred hospital, to enable rescue personnel to help quickly.

Customer Safety is the primary reason ECG chooses Rapid Response Monitoring Services

As the exclusive monitoring provider for Electronic Caregiver, Rapid Response Monitoring has been our expert response partner for decades. Founded in 1992, Rapid Response monitors systems for one million customers. It employs the most educated, courteous, highly trained professionals in the industry today.

“I’ve been in the industry 35+ years. I have dealt with all the large monitoring partners, and there are countless reasons that I chose to partner with Rapid Response. Our company and Rapid have had a tightly aligned focus for 20 years, and its #1 agenda is the customer, the customer, the customer. It’s not only our confidence in their flawless execution or the high-quality experience that makes us a proud dealer. It’s knowing that they don’t just have redundancy and reliability: they have that emergency response operator in place that truly cares,” said Anthony Dohrmann, CEO of Electronic Caregiver, Inc.

Only the best work here!

Rapid Response Monitoring thoroughly vets potential employees. They make it a point to encourage, coach, and carefully manage their teams throughout their years of service. They have incredibly high retention. We get to form relationships with the people that our customers depend on for emergency response.

Together, ECG and RRMS provide reliable 24/7 protective services. We offer a stay-on-the-line feature powered by certified emergency medical dispatchers during emergencies. We’re encouraging others innovating and developing in this industry, that RRMS is who they should use to ensure the very best for their customers as well. There should be no compromise in safety.

We know where to find you during emergency response

And finally, what if you aren’t at home next to your fall button on the bathroom floor when you need some help? What if you’re out shopping and someone has stolen your wallet and car keys? What if Dad’s out for that daily walk and he didn’t see that snake? In the unlikely event that just became likely, how will you respond during a robbery or worse? How often do we leave our cell phones when we are just going to “run in real quick?”

The GPS feature on every Electronic Caregiver system is integral. We shouldn’t take it for granted that our cell phone will get us aid. Or that we will be able to communicate exactly where to find us.

When our system defines what and where you’re protected. When good emergency response operators do their job your crisis intervention will be much smoother.

That emergency response operator will find you

A dedicated emergency response operator wants to help people, or they wouldn’t work in such an intense, stressful career. Doing their jobs with training, integrity, and dignity, they transform from employees doing their 9-5 into true heroes. Our hearts were warmed to hear about the 911 emergency response operator whose intervention saved a Mom and her 5-month-old baby’s lives from this story on Inside Edition.

We deliberately included GPS into ECG systems so operators can instruct emergency responders exactly where to find you, especially if you can’t tell them. We don’t want you to go it alone, either in person or on the call. If you cannot verbalize your needs or your location, your RRMS emergency response operator will dispatch immediately while staying on the call. They are with you until EMS makes it apparent you are no longer alone. That’s quality. That’s integral, and that could be lifesaving.

We hope you don’t ever have to use it. But if you do, we’re ready to respond.

We included preventative interventions, vitals monitoring, and health support in our systems. Because it is our sincere hope that you never have to use the emergency response feature. But if you do, having one of our systems ensures you will receive top-of-the-line intervention, and as quickly as possible every single time.

The worst-case scenario is that we have the privilege to assist you or your loved one when it’s most needed. The best-case situation is that all the other features help so much and you don’t ever use the emergency response feature. We never want you to have to talk to an emergency response operator, but if you do, we want you to know their excellence will get you through.

Call one of our incredible customer service representatives at 833-324-5433. Discover more information here: https://electroniccaregiver.com/faq/

You’ll be so glad you did.