Are You OK? This Is Your Friendly Computer Calling

This city has become the first in Southern California to use a specialized computer telephone system to contact homebound or frail senior citizens on a daily basis. The automated “Are You OK?” system aims to assure older people, and those who care about them, that their health and safety are being looked after.

“It gives peace of mind to the seniors,” said Joyce Melendrez, one of about 10 volunteers who operate the system for the city. “It gives peace of mind also to their friends and relatives. They’ll know somebody is going to check. They’ll know somebody is looking out for them, and they’re not all alone.”

A computer dials the senior between 8 and 9:30 a.m. When the person answers, the computer plays a cheery taped message from a Pico Rivera sheriff’s station deputy. The recorded voice says hello and instructs the resident to hang up if everything is fine. If there is trouble, the voice says hang up and dial 911.

If a senior instead requests help over the “Are You OK?” line, a volunteer monitoring the calls will pick up the phone or signal deputies for help. If no one answers the daily call, the system will wait a few minutes and call back as many as three times before triggering an alarm.

Participants are asked to give notice when they won’t be home to receive the calls.

Eleven people have signed up since the project’s April 15 start, said Barbara Smythe, director of senior services in Pico Rivera. She estimates that about 300 residents are eligible, although she admits that officials have no clear idea how many need the system.

The clients, most of them older than 70, include a woman who suffers from muscle tremors, slurred speech and walking difficulty. She treats the computer call like a friend.

“She talks to the computer,” Smythe said. “She always says good morning, and she always says thank you.”

Marina Snyder, 85, hopes the service will allow her and her 88-year-old husband, Manuel, to remain in their home. Although Marina Snyder can still hobble around the house, she often uses a wheelchair outside. Her husband, who is blind and lost a leg, rarely leaves the house.

Thelma Chapman also wants to stay put and independent. The 74-year-old retired secretary used to walk more than two miles a day before she fell and broke her hip more than a year ago. Outside the house, she needs a cane to get around.

The Philadelphia native has lived in her Pico Rivera home since 1951. Her husband, a craftsman and engineer, died two years ago.

“I’m completely alone,” she said. “I have no blood relatives.”

Chapman finds solace being surrounded by her late husband’s handmade furniture, art pieces and knickknacks. She takes great pride in cleaning and displaying the prize-winning miniature furniture he crafted from tin cans and fabric.

The daily computer call gives her confidence that she can safely live alone in her beloved home for many years.

“I get up at 5:30 every day, and I get myself dressed and ready, and I’m sitting right by the phone when it rings,” she said. “I’ve got myself trained.”

Chapman is among the growing number of senior citizens who live by themselves. The number of older people living alone increased 25% between 1980 and 1989, according to statistics compiled by the American Assn. of Retired Persons. In 1989, about 30%, or 8.9 million of all non-institutionalized older people lived alone.

“Most people live in nuclear families today,” Smythe said. “The husband or wife dies and the children move away. If they’re ill their friendships disintegrate, and soon they’re alone.”

Retired urologist Milton Zucker, a vigorous 83, donated $10,000 to pay for the Pico Rivera system. He said he learned of seniors’ problems largely through the work of his wife, who offers group counseling to older people.

“I happen to be a resident of Pico Rivera since 1948,” he said, “and I felt that as a citizen of the community I might do something to help the community.”

Local officials suggested he buy the system for the city. “Are You OK?” is made by Northland Innovation Corp., a Minnesota firm.

Company founder Bruce Johnson developed it at the request of the Osage, Iowa, Police Department. Johnson was a local businessman who tinkered with computers in his garage, sales manager Tom Larson said.

The system debuted in 1988 and became the subject of a national television feature. That was all Johnson needed to get his business going. Across the continent, 120 communities have bought in. Versions cost between $3,500 and $7,000. Larson said he knows of at least 23 lives that have been saved so far.

The system can make about 100 calls an hour. And different messages can be programmed into it. A city could use it to check on seniors in the morning and latchkey children in the afternoon. Or, it could be programmed to call the same senior every three hours with different messages containing instructions on what medicine to take.