Phone Check-In Service Offered to Elderly, Disabled
The Redondo Beach Fire Department is offering a computerized check-in service for elderly and disabled residents, officials said.
The computerized system automatically places calls to participants and alerts a dispatcher if help is needed.
While many senior citizens like the system, said Pat Aust, Redondo Beach fire chief, “some of the people who really need this still don’t want to give up that independence.”
The computer calls participants each day at 9 a.m. and asks them to press a number if they are all right. If there is no response, the system will make a second attempt. If there is still no answer, the number is forwarded to a dispatcher who consults a list to verify if the resident is scheduled to be away or on vacation.
If the participant is expected to be at home, the dispatcher calls a designated neighbor to check up on the resident. If there is still no answer, the Fire Department will send a unit.
The system is available to the elderly and disabled in Redondo Beach. An answering machine cannot be used in conjunction with the program.
Information: (310) 318-0663.
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