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Updated 8/6/15 12:02pm | This monthAlert1partnered with a suburb in Illinois to provide service to everyone in the city who wants or needs a senior medical alert system. I had the privilege of taking a couple of trips to the town in order to help install systems for the residents who were getting our service.
As an employee who had previously spent all of his time in our San Jose, CA office, this was quite a change. I was unsure what to think about entering the homes of our members, but I knew that at the very least it would be educational. It turned out to be far more than that, and I am so glad that I made the trips and met all of the wonderful people that I did.
I spent almost 2 full weeks getting to know everyone at the small town in Illinois. When I wasn’t at the senior center, I was out meeting our new members and helping to install senior medical alert systems that we set up for the wonderful folks that call their town home and talking to people about how Alert1 stacked up against Life Alert costs.
At every house I visited, the owners were very warm and inviting. I loved seeing how diverse our members are. I helped people ranging from 70 years old to over 100. To go with this variety of ages was an even larger variety of personalities. It was a really important experience for me to spend time with our members in person and not just over the phone.
Most of our new members were very entertaining and certainly hadn’t lost any of their sense of humor in their golden years. I had a wonderful time speaking with them and hearing about their lives. Every member has a different story, but they were all worth listening to and usually involved many caring friends and family members. Seeing these seniors age in place, I couldn’t help but admire how well situated many of our Alert1 members were.
I was amazed by the close family friends and caregiverswho support their seniors. I even got to watch two daughters argue about which one of them got to pay for their mother’s senior medical alert system. It’s very rewarding to know that we give all of those friends and family members some peace of mind by being there for their loved ones at all times.
I got a chance to spend time with one man who showed me an album of photos from World War II that were taken by a photographer and soldier who fought with him. He personally carried the pictures into and out of battles as he fought throughout Europe just to make sure he could bring them back without the government taking them. Being far too young to even imagine World War II, I was in awe at the stories and pictures that he shared with me. I consider myself very lucky to have met that individual, as well as all of the other great people I met.
Not every installation went smoothly, but they all worked out eventually. I helped one woman who spoke very broken English, but she was the nicest woman in the world. After 40 minutes or so of communicating with each other with some difficulty, everything was set up and it was time to say goodbye. She could not tell me enough how nice and patient I was, but she was equally nice and patient and absolutely worth spending the time with. I got offered drinks and snacks in the large majority of houses that I visited. The constant kindness of every member never ceased to amaze me. I even took pictures with a couple of them to remember the experience by.
There was one house where the phone line died in the middle of a test call. The Alert1 Command Center performed exactly how it should when it cannot determine if you are okay or not, and dispatched Emergency Services. The ambulance arrived in only a few minutes. That was a great testament to how quickly Personal Emergency Response Systems can get you help. We successfully helped the member resolve the issue with the phone company and the member was very happy with her new system.
After meeting so many wonderful and friendly people, I am so happy that I can call them our members. I hope that not a single one of them ever has a reason to press their help button, but if they do I am happy to be able to say we will be there for them. They are now part of the Alert1 family, and we will get them the help they need immediately.