How To Call 911 For Someone Living In Another State

This Is Getting Old Podcast with Melissa B PhD

Emergency numbers are the kind of thing you may not fully appreciate until you need them.

—Melissa Batchelor, PhD, RN, FNP, FGSA, FAAN

Would you know how to contact 911 for a loved one who lives in a different state?

Many people assume that if you call 911 in your local area that they would be able to connect you to the municipality that your loved one lives in – but that’s not always the case.

Join me for this week’s episode where Rebecca Murphy from Maryland shares her story of Facetiming her Dad in Florida – and he fell through the attic to the concrete garage floor below and was severely injured.

She shares her harrowing account of events and offers tips to help you make sure you never end up in this kind of panic. You can be prepared. So stay tuned to learn how to call 911 for someone living in another state and other technology solutions for connecting to emergency services.

Now let’s dive into this week’s episode ▶️ How To Call 911 For Someone Living In Another State

Main Point #1: Tell us about what happened that led you to need to call 911 in another state?

Rebecca was on FaceTime with her dad when she faced a nerve-racking situation. Initially trying to fix something in the attic, she suddenly heard her dad's screams as he fell 12 to 15 feet onto the concrete in the garage.

Helpless, she realized she didn't even have his address. Here comes the first lesson – always make sure you know the addresses of your loved ones. After reaching out to other family members, she decided to contact the nearest EMS for assistance.

Main Point #2: What happened when you tried to call 911?

Rebecca received instructions to dial 911 in Maryland, but when she did, they were unable to forward the call to authorities in Florida. Instead, they provided her with a phone number for a different city.

What should have been a quick five-minute process turned into a frustrating 45-minute ordeal. Rebecca had to call numerous municipal offices all across Florida just to inform them that someone needed to help her dad.

It's truly a distressing situation that no one should ever have to go through, and it could have been avoided with a little bit of prior planning and preparation.

Main Point #3: Recommendations for people to avoid spending all that time figuring it out

Prepare Ahead of Time

1. Know their address

2. Understand what emergency entity will respond – city vs. county

3. Add the PSAP for your loved one in your phone contacts – Public Safety Answering Point

4. Encourage elected officials to include the PSAP number – File of Life program

Technology solutions:

1. Apple Watch that automatically calls 911 with fall setting + cellular connection; can call for yourself with watch on.

2. Fall Risk: Logs can help monitor if you have changes in coordination, gait stability and gait speed.

#emergencyplan #emergency #dispatch #careteam #healthcare #communityeffort #caremanagement #caregiver #alzheimersupport #alzheimer #alzheimersawareness #alzheimers #dementia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About MelissaBPhD

Melissa Batchelor, PhD, RN, FNP, FGSA, FAAN. I am a nurse, nurse practitioner, nurse educator and nurse researcher with over 25 years of experience in the aging and long-term care healthcare space. You can visit my website at MelissaBPhD.com to learn more about me, how you can work with me directly, and/or support future episodes of the podcast. Within the first 18 months of launching this podcast, we reached a ranking of top 10% globally. I have all of you who’ve been with me on this journey so far to thank for that!

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