Bell : Computerized Phone Check System for Shut-Ins OKd
The Bell City Council has agreed to spend $7,000 to buy a computer system that will provide daily telephone contact with the city’s elderly and handicapped residents.
The “RUOK” program, which will be free for qualifying residents, will contact participants who live alone and may not have anyone to call for help in the event of an emergency. The daily computerized calls will be monitored by volunteers at the Police Department, who will notify a dispatcher to send an officer to investigate if a resident fails to answer the phone.
Bell officials expect to have the program operational by February or March, City Administrator John Bramble said. Applications for the service are available from the Police Department.
In Pico Rivera, the communication link has been successful and one life has been saved since the program began in April, volunteer monitor Joyce Melendrez said. More than 15 residents are being monitored, she said.
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