Work and Income expand funding to cover Securely Anywhere Alarms

Up until recently, if you needed help with the ongoing costs of a medical alarm, only In-Home alarms were eligible for funding via the disability allowance from Work and Income. In-Home alarms are great for those that spend much of their time in the comfort of their own home, but not for active Kiwis who enjoy getting out and about.

Work and Income have recently announced that they are expanding this funding to cover alarms used outside of the home as well. This is great news for New Zealand’s active elderly, who may be eligible to receive funding for an alarm that better suits their lifestyle.

SECURELY, one of New Zealand’s largest suppliers of medical alarms, have a range of Anywhere Alarms that offer wearers peace of mind. The distress alarms can be worn outside of the home and are equipped with cellular and GPS technology.

With the push of a button, the Anywhere Alarm obtains your current location and sends this information to the SECURELY 24/7 Monitoring Centre. Once the Monitoring Centre has received your alert, an operator will speak with you via the in-built speaker and send emergency services to your location if required.

If you have pressed the SOS button but are unconscious or unable to communicate with the 24/7 Monitoring Centre, Emergency Services will be sent.

SECURELY’S General Manager, Stephen Frame was thrilled to hear of the recent expansion of funding and says this change will have a positive impact on SECURELY’s customers.

“This expansion in funding is warmly welcomed. We’re excited to be able to provide an Anywhere Alarm to Seniors, so they can continue to live their lives to the fullest, while feeling safe in the knowledge that help is there if needed.”

If you would like to learn more about a SECURELY medical alarm, contact your local sales agent Jonathan Sibbles on 021 438 067 or visit www. securely.nz

Peace of mind in your pocket

We found it very helpful listening to the experiences of other group members and quickly realized that we were not alone in our situation. It helped to share concerns and offer advice among others who also had experience in helping their family members live with this very debilitating disease.

Those early times and throughout his addiction were very difficult to manage as we found no resources in the local community to actively help us make our son well again. Then we were introduced to the “Significant Others” Group at Age Concern Canterbury. This Group is aimed at those over 65 who are the parents or spouses of family members with addiction problems.

This group has been very helpful in our attempts to improve the life of our son. Apart from mutual socializing, my wife and I benefit greatly from the fortnightly meetings. The group is led by experienced nurses who are very familiar with the addiction (alcohol and drugs) issues and its medical and social consequences.

Our son had periods at the local Nova Trust residential care facility and the Bridge residential programme provided by the Salvation Army. The improvement was limited and his addiction too overpowering: he died of kidney failure – this despite repeated warnings about the effects of alcohol on his body. It was a terrible loss.

Despite his loss, we continue to be members of the Group which we are grateful to be part of. The remarkable members, the very fine experienced nurses and other Age Concern Canterbury staff have offered us help and comfort in dealing with our loss and we hope that sharing our story in the Group will also bring comfort and support to another family.