New Emergency Response System Increases Resident Safety

A new personal emergency response system at Passavant Retirement Community is keeping residents safer than ever before.

The SARA (Situational Awareness and Response Assistant) system is a wireless pendant, being worn by all Passavant residents, which can be activated in the event of an emergency from anywhere on campus, both indoors and out.

When a resident presses the emergency button on his or her SARA pendant, a call for help, including the name and precise location of the resident, is sent instantaneously to a primary responder on campus – either a case manager, clinical coordinator or a nurse.

“This will be a great benefit for the residents,” said Debbie McMurdy, Infection Control Coordinator at Passavant Retirement Community, and one of the primary responders. 

With the old system, when a resident had an emergency, the responders were only able to determine a general location for the resident. With the SARA system, responders can determine the exact location of the resident in need, making their response time much quicker. The wireless signal even reaches to the grocery store across the street from the Passavant campus, where many of the residents go to shop.

“They can even go over to the store and be protected,” McMurdy said.

The SARA pendants are not as sensitive as those used with the old system. McMurdy said that in the event of an emergency the resident has to intentionally press the button. In the past, she said, residents would inadvertently bump the pendant on furniture or countertops, sending a false emergency call.

The SARA system will test itself frequently and silently to be sure that it is working properly. With the old system, these tests resulted in beeps and alarms in the residents’ homes, which often caused confusion for them. These tests will also determine if the batteries need changed in individual pendants so that they can be replaced as quickly as possible.

“The biggest benefit of the SARA System,” McMurdy said, “will be that there is no beeping or alarms” when the system is being tested.

Sharon Whalen, technology associate for Lutheran SeniorLife, explained that the pendant alert system is only a small part of what the SARA system offers. “When you look at the whole system, it is expandable and flexible,” she said, and will be able to accommodate future safety needs on campus.

The SARA system is being implemented by Unified Alerts. Along with Lutheran SeniorLife, Unified Alerts is a member of the Faith-Based Network, a business alliance of faith-affiliated, non-profit organizations in western Pennsylvania that work together to create quality business solutions.