In Case of Emergency Safety Campaign Aims to Keep Elderly Safe in Cold

As cold temperatures blanket our area, a growing number of seniors may wind up in trouble, stuck in life threatening situations. They may slip and fall, their car might break down, and they may get lost, confused, or stranded – literally left out in the cold. That’s why Visiting Angels has launched our ICE a Cell Phone Safety Campaign to help seniors in case of emergency. To ICE a cell phone, you load emergency contacts in seniors’ phones with the word ICE in front of the emergency contacts’ names, so when someone finds a senior in trouble they know who to call In Case of Emergency. Visiting Angels hopes this will become a universal emergency plan – a quick way for emergency responders to pick up a senior’s cell phone, and press the letter ‘I’ to find seniors’ emergency contacts.

“We urge families to ICE seniors’ phones, or come by our offices and we will ICE seniors’ phones for free,” says Larry Meigs, CEO of Visiting Angels. “We care for thousands of older Americans, and we constantly hear stories about how families need an emergency plan for seniors. One family told us their elderly loved one with dementia roamed five miles from home. When police tried to help they had no clue who to call. ICE contacts help responders know who to call in emergencies in this cold or at any time of year.”

How to ICE Seniors’ Cell Phones:

Under ‘I’ in the cell phone contact list, load the In Case of Emergency contact names, beginning with the word ICE
(ie: ICE_Heather).
Make sure the emergency contact(s) agree to be an ICE partner.
Include every phone number (home/cell/work) of the ICE partner.
ICE partners should know the seniors’ medical conditions, doctors’ names and medications they’re taking.
An ICE sticker can save a life. Place a Visiting Angels’ ICE Loaded sticker on seniors’ cell phones, so if someone finds a senior in trouble they know who to call in an emergency.

Download the ICE label file

Each Visiting Angels agency is a franchise that is independently owned and operated. The Franchisor, Living Assistance Services Inc., does not control or manage the day to day business operations of any Visiting Angels franchised agency.

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