Woman freezes to death while husband lies helpless nearby

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

EATONTON, Ga. (AP) — Authorities in central Georgia say a 74-year-old woman froze to death after she tried to help her wheelchair-bound husband outside their home.

Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills tells local news outlets that Maria Riffe died Thursday while her immobile husband laid about 20 yards from her, both unable to help each other.

Eighty-six-year-old Roy Riffe was in a motorized wheelchair going down the concrete walkway at their home when he ran off the walkway and fell out of the wheelchair.

Sills says Maria Riffe, who relied on a walker, fell while trying to help her husband, leaving both helpless.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/285f77b36743451c98ddc753c2681ad4/woman-freezes-death-while-husband-lies-helpless-nearby

[Jefferson23]

1. That is so sad, horrible way to die :(

[blackspade]

2. This is why we need publicly funded health care for all.

It would provide for caretakers and helpers for elderly people like this.
Tragic.

[SunSeeker]

15. Actually, this is why we need public funding for Life Alert pendants.

See post 4.

[blackspade]

21. I would think that would fall under health care....

so I totally agree.

[SunSeeker]

22. Some Medicare Advantage programs do cover it, but unfortunately Medicare doesn't--and should.

As noted in post 19:

Now the personal alert systems aren't covered by traditional Medicare, but they are covered by some Medicare Advantage programs. Mine does (Amerigroup). But still, that depends on cell coverage I believe. I believe some states provide funding as well.

[mentalsolstice]

3. Too bad they didn't have one of those alert systems.

Unfortunately, those things cost about $25 per month, and thus are out of reach for many seniors. We spend too much supporting the MIC, and not enough on our everyday citizens.

[jwirr]

18. I think Medicare pays for mine. But most of them only work

within a certain range of the control box and that often means "only inside the house". If going outside it is better to carry a cell phone.

[OldRedneck]

4. This should not have happened, could have been prevented

If one or both of these folks had an emergency alert pendant, this would not have happened.

No doubt everyone has seen the TV ads "Help!! I've fallen and I can't get up!!" Those ads are run by a company called Life Alert to advertise their pendant (wear it around your neck) that will call 911 at the press of a button. Some of these pendants even sense a fall and automatically call. The only one I'm familiar with is LifeAlert, though there are others.

I'm an Advanced Life Support EMT with a volunteer rescue squad in rural Virginia. In my county, over 35% of the population is 65 or older. We are dispatched for pendant activation at least once a month, usually 2-3 times a month. Sometimes it's a false alarm -- someone inadvertently pushed the button without realizing it. But when the call is real, it's a life-saver.

One problem is that these services -- Life Alert and similar services -- charge a monthly fee. It could be the couple in GA simply could not afford the fee. If that's the case, someone in the family should have stepped up and paid it.

If you have relatives, friends, neighbors who are older or who have chronic medical problems, investigate an alarm pendant for them. If they can't afford it, call a family conference and get it done.

Here's a Consumer's Report article:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2014/06/what-to-look-for-in-a-medical-alert-system/index.htm

Companies that provide these services are:
Life Alert
Medical Alert
Life Station
MobileHelp
Philips Lifeline
Rescue Alert

Also -- our sheriff's office has a "Safe and Secure" program. People who are enrolled in the program are supposed to call the sherrif's office twice a day at set times. If they miss a call, a deputy is dispatched to check on them. I've just compiled the 2015 call records for our rescue squad, In 2015 we answered six Safe and Secure calls -- the person did not call, deputy was dispatched, found a problem and we were called. Two were DOA; three had fallen with broken hip and/or femur; one had fallen in the back yard and laid there for four hours until they missed their call time. See if your local law enforcement has such a service.

[Roland99]

8. +1

[FlatBaroque]

9. thank you

[FailureToCommunicate]

10. Thank you! Excellent info and advice.

[JudyM]

12. Thanks for posting this. Will look into it for my folks. Nt

[question everything]

20. Would it operate in rural area?

Is it limited by distance of receptors?

I don't know anything about it, I know that like cable and cell phones towers are scarce in rural areas.

[dixiegrrrrl]

23. Pls. let me add that a safe call system can be used with a neighbor also.

We have an elderly frail neighbor who is resisting the idea of an Alert Aid, but she will call us when she needs help.
She is returning home this week after a couple of months of being her daughter, and I am going to propose to her she call us am and pm.
If she is resistant to that, I will schedule calls to her.

[MuseRider]

29. You are amazing.

There are so many people who would never ever do that for someone they were not related to or close to. I love reading posts like yours.

[dixiegrrrrl]

31. I am so blessed to live in a real life "Mayberry"

Tiny southern town, right out of the 1950's. Many of the old values are alive and well in our neighborhood, including taking care of others in need. It's ...neighborly.
Actually, I can't sneeze around here without someone volunteering to run down to the drug store for me.
Which they do not have to do, since the drug store delivers.
No charge.

Politeness, manners, a respect for those older than you, and a willingness to look out for your neighbor, is what makes parts of the South still so special.

[flamingdem]

24. good info +1

[cui bono]

25. Great info, thanks!

I think I'll get a service for my mom. She's been having wobbly knees lately and lives alone.

.

[rwheeler31]

28. Thank you, good information

[williesgirl]

32. What county are you in? I'm in Warren County.

[denvine]

5. That's awful!

It breaks my heart to think that this could happen.

[polly7]

6. So, so sad. nt.

[salib]

7. I cannot even imagine.

[democrank]

11. So heartbreaking.

Rest in peace, Maria Riffe.

[Hoppy]

13. A cell phone would also have worked if there was a tower nearby. It would be cheaper than some of

the alert buttons.

[SunSeeker]

16. Problem is a phone won't dial itself.

A lot of times the fall will render the elderly person unconscious or unable to move. Or, if the fall is from a stroke, the person is unable to speak, as happened with my mom. The alert button automatically senses the fall and makes the call/notification.

[TexasBushwhacker]

19. True and you can get one free w/ a few minutes

I had one for a while when I was disabled. It's called the "Lifeline" program and provides a basic phone and 350 minutes (and unlimited texts). Some offer landlines as an option.

Now the personal alert systems aren't covered by traditional Medicare, but they are covered by some Medicare Advantage programs. Mine does (Amerigroup). But still, that depends on cell coverage I believe. I believe some states provide funding as well.

Now I really don't know why they aren't covered by Medicare. It seems to me that being able to get help to people quickly would cut down on medical costs.

[crim son]

14. My grandmother, when in her late eighties,

slipped while getting out of the bathtub and could not get out at all. She was in the empty tub, freezing, for about six hours before a neighbor stopped by to check on her and she called out for help. It's easy to think that a person has to be disabled or terribly infirm to experience such accidents but Gramma was totally mobile and her mind was completely intact. The injury caused by the fall back into the tub was the problem.

[elias49]

17. No thanks Steve..I'll pass on this..nt

[HassleCat]

26. Is this story real?

This is similar to a story about a man who fell into a burn barrel, head-first, while his wife rolled around helplessly in her wheel chair. These things do happen, of course, but there are more stories than actual events.

[Hoyt]

27. Apparently they lived on a pretty nice lake in middle Ga. Homeowners on either side don't live

there full-time and were not home. Just thinking of them lying there, not being able to do anything . . . . . .

[LiberalElite]

30. Regarding the alert systems - a friend has one and

it's only operational while she's home. It is of no use outside her apartment. I don't know if other alert systems are any different.