Life Link Technology Available for Your Safe Being

Life Link of Sheridan County is our local provider providing personal emergency response service for individuals living at home. This service allows individuals to call for help by pressing a button when they cannot reach their telephone. This technology allows people to live in their homes regardless of age, infirmities, or illness.

And for active adults, Life Link technology would help add an additional measure of security. For example, what if you were out walking the dog and had your cell phone? But what if you went down and couldn’t dial out? A Life Link pendant could automatically signal the response center to send help. Global positioning system – GPS – technology would send your location to the emergency response team to get to you. There are also wristbands available but only with standard capabilities.

But not every community has Life Link services. It takes dedicated volunteers who want to bring this service to their community. Sheridan is lucky in this.

All of this is provided by a local volunteer board in Sheridan. This board is responsible for providing a technician manager who installs the equipment. Many of you may know Terry Yentzer in town who has done this for years. After a system is installed in someone’s home, Terry is available and on call should the equipment need attention.

The volunteer board maintains an inventory of monitors and call buttons that allows us immediate service to a client. What’s nice about Life Link is if equipment needs help, Terry gets a report that says something like “John Smith’s machine needs a new battery.”

Upgrades are done on a rotation that keeps us current with the new innovations. Our latest upgrade included 25 wireless monitors that cost $15,100. These wireless monitors are perfect for people who no longer have telephone landlines.

We also have the Phillips medication dispensers. This is a programmable machine for those who need assistance with taking medication. These dispensers are filled with prescription medication by a family caregiver then they signal by sound, screen and light when it’s time to take medication.

There are differing monthly service fees for different levels of service. There is financial assistance based on income.

The local Life Link volunteer team is responsible for raising money to purchase the equipment that goes in homes. Life Link is a nonprofit organization that has maintained its budget to buy equipment through donations from communities, organizations, grants, and individuals. The monthly fee only pays for the service of being connected to the personal emergency alert system and not equipment.

A volunteer board has managed Life Link services in Sheridan since 1988. Life Link was started by Dorothy Enzi, Rev. Ray Clark and Billie Sollars.

I serve as president of the 12 member volunteer board. Terry is our manager and installation technician. He and a bookkeeper are our only paid staff.

Members of the board will be available at the 2016 Resource Expo at the Third Thursday Downtown on September 15. There you can view our display and visit about Life Link equipment and services.

If you would like information if Life Link is something for your family, call Terry at 751-9348.