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December
3, 2002
News Specialist Jill Atwood reporting
A tragedy in a Sandy neighborhood has friends and family wishing
they could turn back the clock, and county aging services
eager to spread a message.
Older loved ones or neighbors need a little extra attention,
even if they insist they don't need it or want it.
A 72-year-old
Sandy woman lay on the floor of her home over the Thanksgiving
weekend hurt and in need of help.
She lay there for several days, but no one knew, until finally
a neighbor peeked through the window. If only someone had
peeked sooner.
She didn't show up for Thanksgiving at her daughter's house
out of state, and the 72-year-old also wasn't answering her
phone.
"She was so proud of herself and her independence and
being able to maintain things on her own."
Neighbors assumed she had left town for the holiday, but yesterday
morning after family members finally got in touch with a neighbor,
they realized in horror that she had never left.
Either a fall or some sort of medical emergency left her lying
on the floor unable to call for help. She was still alive
when paramedics first got to her, but they were unable to
save her.
"Just the shock and just in fear that she had been suffering
for a long time, and that we were all here and had happy Thanksgivings
and been around family, and she was alone," says neighbor
Amy Rudd.
Nancy Stallings is with Salt Lake County Aging Services. She
says it's for this very reason that neighbors and families
need to set up some sort of a communication system.
"Older people aren't out and around as much as younger
people are. They don't go to school or people don't miss them
if they don't go to school or don't make an appearance. A
lot of times they're at home because they don't drive or they
don't feel well," Stallings says.
It can be as formal as a welfare check by a police officer
or neighborhood watch, or as informal as a knock on the door
or a light in the window.
"I can give you my phone number or a key to my house
in case of an emergency. If I didn't pull my drapes by 9:00
in the morning, you would call and say are you OK?"
"You
make fun of all the commercials -- the 'I've fallen down and
can't get up,' with the buzzers, but I really do think there
needs to be a system in place, some sort of family network
or a neighbor network."
Wintertime is especially hard on the elderly, because they
tend to get out of the house even less.
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