Anyone in the medical field knows about the “golden hour.” This is also a concept that most PERS dealers are familiar with. Founder of the Shock Trauma Institute in Baltimore, R. Adams Cowley, is widely recognized as the father of the golden hour concept, which states that “ the first hour after injury will largely determine a critically injured person’s chances of survival.”
The Golden Hour
The concept of the golden hour has been widely debated since 1975, and whether or not the one hour time frame is actually as important to a person’s survival after a traumatic injury as was once thought. Regardless of what side of the fence you find yourself on, we can all agree on this; if you, or someone you know got hurt (knock on wood), that you or they would want help as soon as possible. When you boil the golden rule down to those terms, it becomes fairly logical and practical messaging: receive help as soon as possible.
In 2018, the CDC estimated that 36 million people age 65 and older, experience a fall each year. Roughly 37% of those falls result in injury. Now, this does not mean that every single one of those 36 million falls were life threatening (people would never get out of bed if that was the case), but understanding that some of those falls happened to seniors who live alone, and may have been unable to reach out for help paints a clear picture that having the availability for help is crucial.
Where PERS Play a Role
PERS and mPERS devices can improve the response time of an injury, especially for those who are incapacitated. PERS and mPERS devices can help in two ways: if the person is able to speak or move after a fall or an injury, they can press the button on a PERS device and talk to an operator. Or, if a user falls, a PERS or mPERS device with fall detection will sense the fall, and call an operator automatically. An operator can then assess the situation, even if the user is unable to speak and send EMS to the location of the device.
The national EMS response time to a critical incident is seven minutes. That number increases to about 14 minutes for those who live in rural areas. Regardless, that is well within the “golden hour.”
We think it is safe to say that regardless of how people may feel about R. Adams Cowley’s golden hour, getting help to those in need in a timely matter is not only important, but compassionate. And as you can see, a mPERS or PERS device can provide a lifeline for those who need help. And that help arrives swiftly.
All December we’ll be bringing you some valuable tips and information on assessing the health of aging loved ones throughout the holiday season. As we move through the season, each of these articles will be made available through our website’s resource center, along with any important product updates or announcements for you through our dealer portal.
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