Living Alone, but Not Neglected

A 60-year-old Wells Fargo employee swiped her security badge to enter her workplace in Tempe, Arizona, at 7 a.m. on a Friday in August and, as usual, went to her cubicle and got to work.

On Monday, police received a call from Wells Fargo about a security guard who had found the woman's body at her desk while he was patrolling a little-used part of the third floor. For four days, no one had reported her missing, checked in on her at home or even swung by her cubicle to see if she was there.

The woman's lonely demise, which police attributed to natural causes, grimly illustrates a fear shared by many older adults who live alone, whether because friends and relatives move away, die or become estranged: "What if I die and no one notices?"

This becomes more complicated if the person who passes away has one or more pets. Who will feed them, medicate them, take them for a walk or let them indoors until the person's fate is discovered?

Older adults are tackling the problem with easy-to-duplicate contact systems.

"A friend who has disabilities (and ran a program for people with disabilities) set up a simple free system," says Mary Westheimer, an author who lives in Phoenix. "She emails someone daily so they know she's alive and well. They have instructions on what to do if they don't hear from her. The system is free and it's created a lovely daily exchange of a photo, a comment or simply a contact among people who are now friends."

Other free contact systems could include asking a neighbor to check on you if you do not bring in your daily newspaper or if you don't turn off the porch light come morning.

Taking it up a level, in 2017, the Maryland legislature became the first state to mandate a Senior Call Check (SCC) program. It was sponsored by state Senator Ben Kramer; his sister Rona A. Kramer, former secretary of the Department of Aging, and former state Senator Thomas McLain "Mac" Middleton.

"It took three years for approval and that didn't happen until I found the funding for the program, the Universal Service Trust Fund," Senator Kramer says. "This is a system of telecommunications subsidies and fees managed by the Federal Communications Commission to promote universal access to telecommunications services in the United States."

The program went into effect in 2019 and offers free automated daily check-in calls to Marylanders aged 65 or older at any time they choose. If the recipient doesn't pick up after three call attempts, their alternate person is contacted. If that person can't be reached to check on them, non-emergency services are requested to do so.

Senior Call Check has 1,963 clients around Maryland. It is currently offered only in English, but the state plans to add other languages in the future. South Carolina and Wisconsin have contacted the Maryland office for information on the program and are considering implementing similar systems.

More structured and complex programs, free and fee-based, are provided by government departments, civic associations and companies.

Marty Burbank, an elder law attorney in Fullerton, California, encourages clients to find novel ways to stay in regular contact with older neighbors.

"For years, I've referred clients to Meals on Wheels," Burbank says. "Their volunteers deliver meals and check in, reporting any issues to emergency responders. As part of their home-delivered meal program, they ensure they . . . are eating (and) staying hydrated.

"In addition," he continues, "Meals on Wheels does so much more than deliver nutritious meals, especially to those who are homebound and live alone. They provide case management and in-home services as well as offer friendly visitors to help combat isolation and loneliness."

AARP offers the "Friendly Voice" program, in which volunteers converse with older people who feel isolated, lonely or blue.

Steve Gurney, founder of Positive Aging, a listing of retirement communities, assisted-living facilities, nursing homes and home-care providers in and near Washington, D.C., notes other programs throughout the country. New Jersey's Division of Aging Services, for example, supports reassurance programs through county offices on aging. In Pennsylvania, several counties offer telephone reassurance services, often run by local Area Agencies on Aging or volunteer organizations. In California, some counties provide similar programs, usually operated by senior centers or volunteer groups.

"The Illinois Department on Aging offers a program called 'Senior Well-Being Checks,' which includes automated calls in some parts of the state," Gurney says. Some local Ohio communities have implemented automated call systems for older adults, though these are not coordinated through a statewide program.

The Institute on Aging is a nonprofit organization in San Francisco, but runs a nationwide "Friendship Line" — (888) 670-1360 — that provides both crisis intervention and non-emergency emotional support to older adults.

It is worth noting that while these programs share the goal of checking on older adults' well-being, they may differ in several ways: Many are local operations, others are statewide or even national. The frequency and scheduling of calls may vary, and eligibility criteria and registration processes can differ.