A Carroll County program that provides senior citizens with cellular phones for emergency use while traveling will be introduced at state and national conferences on aging next month, a state official said yesterday.
Sue F. Ward, secretary for the Maryland Department of Aging, brought that news to the county commissioners in Westminster yesterday, saying the innovative safety program called "Cellular Safety" could spread throughout Maryland and beyond.
The free program, which began in January, is sponsored by Carroll State's Attorney Jerry F. Barnes, Sheriff Kenneth L. Tregoning and the county's Bureau of Aging.
"It enables seniors to borrow a donated cell phone as easily as a book from a library," said Gary Cofflin, an investigator for the state's attorney's domestic violence unit.
All cell phones, activated or not, allow free calls to 911.
As soon as Ward learned about the Carroll program, she donated her cell phone to the county Bureau of Aging rather than discard it after buying a new one.
Ward realized the value of having a cell phone about 10 years ago when her car broke down at 11 p.m. on the Capital Beltway in the Washington area.
"I was afraid to get out of the car, and others were afraid to stop and help," she recalled. "I sat there until 2 a.m. before I was able to flag down [police].
"After that, a car phone was not a luxury, but an essential," she said.
Whether other jurisdictions or states adopt Carroll's program will be up to local officials, said Janet Flora, chief of Carroll Bureau of Aging.
"Once they learn about it, many may want to set up their own program," she said.
For Westminster's Earl and Janet Lambert, having a cell phone on a monthlong trip to Florida in February was comforting.
"We thought of buying a phone until reading about the new program," said Earl Lambert, who retired at 62 after 40 years in customer service with Black & Decker Corp. "I don't really need one other than for trips."
Of 15 seniors who have borrowed phones, none has had to use one for an emergency, said Cofflin, who keeps a log on each borrowed phone.
"They return and talk of how secure it made them feel," Cofflin said. "Even adult children have said how good they felt knowing their parents had a cell phone on a trip."
Earl Lambert also noted that he was impressed by the "customer-friendly" attitude when he stopped at the state's attorney's office to borrow the phone.
"They brought it outside to the car and hooked it up, making sure it was in working order, and when I brought it back, they made me feel like I was doing them a favor to drop it off," he said.
Since learning that all cell phones, activated or not, can be used to make a free 911 call, Cofflin began soliciting people to donate unwanted phones rather than discard them.
Pub Date: 3/26/99
