KNOX BOX

My WLLO Village (age in place) group started a campaign this summer to install Knox Box rapid entry systems to all of our members and volunteers who wanted one. We applied to both cities that we cover and received $6,500 in grants and voted to add some of our money as well.  The boxes we chose cost about $450.  Our full service members received one for free, other members paid subsidized $115 and volunteers $220.  Our handyman volunteers installed for free. 

The first Knox Box was introduced in 1975 by the Knox Company, headquartered in Phoenix. A Knox Box is a wall-mounted safe that contains keys to buildings or homes, which are used by emergency services to quickly enter a building in an emergency. 

If you have ever asked your local Fire Department or Police department to do a wellness check on a friend, they often have to break a window or door to get inside to check.  It’s always a last resort but we have had two friends encounter this process.  Homeowner bears the cost of getting things repaired.

Here at my condo complex, the Fire Department did have to break a large window when a resident’s new employer called her out of state son (emergency contact) to ask if she was sick or what.  He called a neighbor here but she did not have a key.  Upon forcefully entering, she was found dead in her bed with a book on her chest.  Just died in her sleep.  I don’t remember the exact cause.  One of our WLLO members also suffered the same demise.  Very fit, healthy and active 60 year old … died of a heart attack.  Which is what prompted our project.

(Our HOA will not allow any of us to install a Knox Box)

Aging alone does need some compromises.  We had a long term renter, 87, fall and was not able to get up or reach a phone.  She lay on her bedroom floor for four days!  I think everyone should have someone they contact daily.  I was part of a group of 8 widows in Maui who partnered up with one another, agreed upon a time for a call, then had a tiny chat every day.  WLLO had a member join just so she could get a phone call every day at 8:30 am.  

She now has a device (invented by our tech guru volunteer) that registers movement and reports to the WLLO office every day at noon.  (And she stills gets a phone call from her favorite seven who all became friends)  If there has been no movement, we contact the person to be sure things are OK.  It also measures the temperature in the home so if it gets too low in the winter, or too hot in the summer, we also get an alert.

Mark, our tech volunteer, also wrote an app that we can use on our phone or computer.  Each member/volunteer has an accompanying photo as well as contact information.  As an office volunteer I can also look at hourly or daily activity or mark someone away on vacation so we don’t worry if there is no activity.  He is looking for some venture capital to build and sell the unit and software to others.  First, to our 13 local Villages here (ranging from 80 members to 200 members)  I was invited to the first meeting since I use the app daily, learning more features.  In fact, I asked if we could sort by phone number in addition to first name or last name as some people call the virtual office and don’t leave a message.  If it is one of our more frail members, we usually give them a call back to check in.  And now we can.

Aging.  We get by with a little help from our friends.