Companies launch senior monitoring system

YORKTON, Saskatchewan-A three-location monitoring company and a Canadian equipment manufacturer have partnered to offer a new in-home monitoring system that targets the senior citizen facility population. SecurTek, a contract monitoring company with central stations in Calgary, Alberta; Winnipeg, Manitoba and at its headquarters here, will provide the monitoring for SecurTek SafetyNet, a system that is installed in a senior housing complex or other multi-dwelling senior facility that can provide direct contact between the senior citizen and SecurTek's monitoring network. The system, which works through a pendant worn around the user's neck and is triggered with a push of the button, will be marketed to SecurTek's network of 30 dealers as well as Canadian dealers that are not currently customers of the central station, said Don Ferguson, general manager of SecurTek. The equipment and software were designed by Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Millennium Automation, which has been developing the system since 1998. The senior emergency response sector adds another service area, and with this system a big-ticket sale, for SecurTek's dealer to add to their offerings. "This was something that SecurTek was looking at already, so we jointly helped them to develop the product," Ferguson said. At press time, the SecurTek SafetyNet system was already installed in five locations, with three more installations scheduled in the next few months, according to Martin Krienke, president of Millennium Automation. Designed for installations of 30 units and above, SafetyNet's pendants connect to a set of repeaters that are placed around the building and that are linked to a main controller, typically located in the telephone room, Krienke said. "It truly does cover every inch of the building, in the garage, everywhere in the facility," Krienke said. Once the button on the pendant is pushed, the system places an automated call to the suite to verify the emergency. If there is no answer after six rings, SecurTek dispatches emergency personnel to the building, where a printout of relevant information of the tenant is prepared by the SafetyNet system, such as contact and medical information. The user hits a button on the telephone to cancel a false alarm.