Emergency response gets personal

Elder advocate Cheryl Jankowski has spent more than 20 years as a caregiver, working with people in assisted living, nonmedical home care and adult day care in the Cape Region.

Jankowski said as a caregiver, she's always had a heart for seniors and those living with disabilities, but it wasn't until she found herself on the other end of the spectrum, knocked out cold with a broken shoulder after a fall in her own home, that she really understood what it was like to feel helpless.

Jankowski said her dogs finally were able to alert her son, who was wearing earphones to take an online exam when the incident happened, and he contacted paramedics.

Since her fall, she decided to purchase an Emergency Link to feel more confident about her own personal safety and that of her clients, she said.

PERS, short for Personal Emergency Response System, is a button-operated emergency response device that can link to friends, family or first responders in the event of an emergency.

"I spent three months in recovery," Jankowski said. "It just goes to show you I still need this device, even if somebody is there."

Now owner and operator of a local network of response systems, she offers access to push-button emergency response via a waterproof pendant worn around the neck or as a wristwatch that is designed to be worn daily.

Emergency Link is a family-run business, Jankowski said, with her daughters taking on operational and administrative roles, as she focuses her energies on sales and installations.

Her Midway Estates neighbor, Louise Bailey, is a client who said she recently considered ending the service after her husband passed away.

Bailey said she thought about giving up her husband's pendant, but she decided it would be a wise investment because she is now living home alone.

The biggest benefit, Bailey said, is the safety net the pendant offers.

"Cheryl suggested I keep it if I should fall," she said. "I did what she suggested, and it has been a big peace of mind."

The response offices of Emergency Link are located in Utah, Jankowski said, as protection from the dramatic weather, hurricanes and other natural disasters that so often affect other parts of the country and can disrupt power.

Once the button is pushed, the team in Utah responds to the call within seconds to check on the Emergency Link client and notify the necessary support services, whether it's police, family, neighbors or friends.

From there, she said the PERS response team can inform first responders of spare keys, allergies, pets or other pertinent information to facilitate a safe resolution to the incident that triggered a notification.

Beyond her work as owner and operator of the local division of Emergency Link, Jankowski said she still continues her work as an elder advocate and consultant for home care and referral services.

For her, it's a calling.

"I was self-taught," Jankowski said. "I got involved with the elderly and disabled, and I loved it."

For more information about Emergency Link and PERS pendants, contact Cheryl Jankowski at 302-381-5880.