Any property owner knows the headaches that arise when an elevator malfunctions. In senior living facilities, such problems have the potential to escalate into a crisis very quickly.
Emergency communications in senior care facilities are vitally important, not only to protect the health and safety of residents and visitors but also to minimize disruptions to staffing resources. If there is an emergency, that call has to go somewhere. In senior living facilities, that destination is often the nursing station.
“We consistently hear about nursing shortages, with staff being pulled in many different directions,” says Scott Wede, senior living business development manager at Kings III Emergency Communications. “An effective solution can help take that risk and liability off of the nursing station while ensuring specialized emergency response, allowing nurses to focus on what they do best — providing essential care to residents.”
With 18 billion elevator trips in the United States annually, it’s inevitable that some properties will experience malfunctions. And when that happens, it’s important to have both a good communication system and a plan in place for dealing with emergencies. A good solution should meet code requirements, minimize the risk and liability for the property owner and management company and care for the safety of residents and visitors, says Wede. New technology is allowing just that.
Adopting New Technology
The reality is that many elevator emergency communications systems have not kept up with industry changes. In some cases, elevators are still serviced by a traditional landline, or in industry speak, a Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) line. However, a key change for elevator communications came in 2022 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allowed providers to stop supporting those traditional phone lines in elevators. Phone companies are no longer obligated to repair, replace or service those lines.
What’s the trickle-down effect of these new rules? Since many telecom companies are no longer maintaining these lines, customers are seeing deterioration in service, costs of infrastructure maintenance rising and delays in installation/servicing.
Kings III provides a turnkey solution that converts the traditional phone line going into the elevator cab to cellular technology, purpose-built to meet stringent elevator code requirements.
“Cellular technology really does increase safety and reliability for elevator cabs,” says Wede. In addition to meeting code, there is a battery backup on the cellular technology that provides approximately 16 hours of standby time in the case of a power outage. Kings III can install an antenna to boost the signal further, and the company works with one of three different service providers to get the best cellular service.
Geared Toward Seniors
Each cab has caller location identification capabilities, so that the emergency dispatch center knows the exact address of the caller and can send emergency services accordingly without having to take any information from the people in the cab. This capability is required by code but often overlooked in other landline replacement solutions. In the event that a resident is disoriented or unable to speak, this tech-based ability means assistance can go to the correct location without delay.
Another important code requirement that the cellular technology allows for is two-way calling into and out of the elevator cab. “That is very important, because if the call becomes disconnected, we are able to call back in; the call is automatically answered; and we can open communications back up right away,” says Wede.
Another new technology Kings III offers, along with its traditional emergency phone service, is CabView™, a video monitoring and two-way messaging system that provides a full view of the inside of the elevator cab. Such video systems are being adopted as part of code in several states, and many senior living facilities are proactively choosing to add CabView systems for safety and compliance in line with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) due to the unique conditions of their residents. The video system allows dispatchers to both see and hear what’s happening in the cab. That way, they can offer additional, personalized assistance, regardless of the passenger’s ability to hear or speak.
For people in the cab who may not be able to hear the dispatcher, a mounted digital screen displays text to aid in communication and to keep people in the elevator calm as help is routed to them.
Responding with Speed and Compassion
Property owners and managers need to know and understand the elevator code, which varies at the local level, according to city and/or state. It’s also important for communities to periodically test their elevator systems (or have them tested, as Kings III regularly does) to ensure that not only is the equipment working, but that the response is as planned.
If there is a problem, it’s crucial there is a person on the other end who can respond quickly and effectively when an emergency call is placed from an elevator, notes Wede. Kings III services more than 125,000 emergency phones across the country and its emergency dispatch center handles approximately 2.6 million calls per year — a striking indicator of how often elevator communications are needed. The company owns and staffs its dedicated, ETL-Listed emergency dispatch center rather than outsourcing that service to a third party, and their staff is able to provide responses in over 175 languages. The company’s team of specialized emergency dispatchers is Red Cross CPR trained, HIPAA compliant and AEMD certified — which means they are able to provide pre-arrival medical instruction to callers when needed.
On average, Kings III emergency dispatch center answers a call within six seconds or less. Community personnel are kept in the loop in real time in accordance with a pre-defined escalation list. Furthermore, as a certified public safety answering point (PSAP), Kings III’s dispatch center directly coordinates with emergency services to ensure immediate dispatch when needed. “That fast response is especially important in the senior care and assisted living space,” says Wede. “Residents can potentially start to panic pretty quickly, but the people in our dispatch center are trained to manage those situations and can handle calls with speed and compassion.”
— By Beth Mattson-Teig. This sponsored content was written in conjunction with Kings III Emergency Communications, a content partner of Seniors Housing Business.