- I retired in April 1991 and that fall received a request to ' help
out ' with the Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) program
at Nelson and District Home Support Society (NDHSS). PERS was a setup of
equipment and personnel that provided assistance, mainly to Seniors living
alone, whereby they could receive help at the press of a button worn around
the neck. Initially I was to do the equipment installs only, but soon had
responsibility for the whole program including interviews, installation
and administration.
The equipment we used was old and I soon found it needed much
repair. I 'reverse engineered' (took it apart and figured out how it worked)
so that I could repair it locally, saving shipping costs and assuring the
repairs were done correctly.
In 1996 I realized our equipment needed replacing and undertook a search for a new setup. After much research, consultation and a visit to the Response Centre in Toronto, we decided on LIFELINE equipment. Trail, Castlegar and Nelson all came together and this added improvements to our ongoing costs. LIFELINE provides the very latest in technology and we are very satisfied with the equipment and monitoring service.
In 2002, massive changes in the Gov't approach to Health Care caused the local ownership of the system to transfer to the LIFELINE Corp. in Toronto and I now work only 'on call'.
