It’s every family’s nightmare — an elderly relative has fallen and can’t reach a phone or answer a doorbell to communicate their emergency.
At least that’s what Port Moody police are surmising happened after a care aid called for a wellness check after she was unable to connect with her 89-year-old client after two days.
The care aid worker called police on Tuesday after receiving no response to attempts to have her answer her door on Sunday and Monday.
PMPD officers responded to the call for a wellness check at about 3 p.m. on Tuesday, but had to enter the apartment when they couldn’t make contact, according to Sgt. Ian Morrison.
They found the woman on the floor unable to move.
However, still conscious, the officers were able to “talk to her and tried to reassure her,” Sgt. Morrison said.
Paramedics and Port Moody fire personnel arrived shortly after and transported her to hospital where the woman is “expected to fully recover from her ordeal,” Sgt. Morrison said in a press release.
It’s not known if the woman lay on the floor without help for two days but Morrison said the care aid did the right thing in calling the police, noting that wellness checks are a part of the job for PMPD.
“We have dozens and dozens of these kinds of calls come to us in a year,” Sgt. Morrison said. “This is an example of a ‘check the wellbeing call’ where someone couldn’t get the help they needed.”
He advises people to consider emergency communications systems for elderly relatives to alert family members or emergency responders in the event of a fall or other emergency.
Fraser Health recommends a Lifeline service.
Read more from the Tri-City News
