✨✨General Discussions

Westminster Woods on Julington Creek (St Johns, FL) has an optional pendant system. Residents must buy them if they choose to participate. The pendents will alert Security. We also have "pull cords" in each residential unit as well as public spaces, which alert Security. We tell residents to call 911 if they are able. If they are phoning Security for Medical Assistance, including help getting up from a fall, we tell them to call 911 FIRST, then call Security.

Security is only one person, and if they are already assisting someone else, or happen to be on the far side of the campus, doing routine patrol, Fire/Rescue can potentially arrive at a resident's Apartment or Villa before Security does.

Many Independent residents chose to have Apple Watches or similar devices that incorporate fall detection and automatic emergency notification.

Our community, Panorama in Lacey, WA, has a similar system but it functions differently.

The pendant is not provided by the Corporation, it is provided by our Benevolent Fund.

Responders to pendant calls are called Urgent Response Aides (URAS). There is always one on duty, 24 x7. They are not part of the Skilled Care staff.

We are instructed to call both 911 and use the pendant, in the event of an emergency. URAs have access to our records and can help notify our emergency contacts, coordinate transfers to hospital if needed, etc. They do not perform first aid but they can do preliminary assessments such as blood pressure checks and they can interface with first responders if needed.

We are not required to wear these devices, but who wouldn't want the peace of mind that there's someone to contact, from anywhere on campus?

Our community requires independent living residents to wear a pendant that is like a call bell connected to the desk in skilled care. In the case of a medical emergency, residents are instructed to simultaneously call 911 and press this button. Do other communities have this expectation of IL residents?