Families urged to 'ICE' seniors' cells to keep elderly safe

Thursday, February 6, 2014

As cold temperatures continue to blanket the area, a growing number of seniors may wind up in trouble, possibly even stuck in life-threatening situations.

They may slip and fall, their car might break down, and they may get lost, confused or stranded -- literally left out in the cold.

That's why Visiting Angels, one of the nation's largest in-home senior care agencies -- with a location in the area -- has launched the ICE a cell phone safety campaign to help seniors in case of emergency.

To ICE a cell phone, you load emergency contacts in seniors' phones with the letters ICE in front of emergency contacts' names, so when someone finds a senior in trouble they know who to call in case of emergency.

Visiting Angels hopes to see ICE become a universal emergency plan -- a quick way for emergency responders to pick up a senior's cell phone, and press the letter 'I' to find emergency contacts.

"We urge families to ICE seniors' phones, or come by our offices and we will ICE seniors' phones for free," offered Larry Meigs, CEO of Visiting Angels.

"We care for thousands of older Americans," he added, "and we constantly hear stories about how families need an emergency plan for seniors. One family told us their elderly loved one with dementia roamed five miles from home. When police tried to help they had no clue who to call.

"ICE contacts help responders know who to call in emergencies in this cold or at any time of year," Meigs added.

Here's how to ICE seniors' cell phones:

-- Under 'I' in the cell phone contact list, load the in-case-of-emergency contact names, beginning with the word ICE (ie: ICE-Heather).

-- Make sure the emergency contact(s) agrees to be an ICE partner.

-- Include every phone number (home/ cell/work) of the ICE partner.

-- ICE partners should know the seniors' medical conditions, doctors' names and medications they take.

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