A program to help those in the community who live alone should be kicking off in January.
The RU-OK program is coming to the Tyrone community and it’s designed to place phone calls to the older residents each and every day to make sure they are OK. The program is sponsored by the Tyrone Rotary Club, with the help of Reclamere, which will build the system; and the Tyrone Borough Police Department, where the computer system will be housed.
According to Rotarian Randy Miles Sr., the program is a system used to check on the welfare of people living by themselves and who are dependent on the social service system for survival. He said people with developmental disabilities and the elderly population would be the perfect candidates for the program. He also mentioned that it would be a free service.
“What this program would do is place a phone call to everyone who signs up for the program sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. each day,” said Miles. “If they answer the phone, the program will automatically hang up, showing that particular person is okay. If the phone is not answered, the program will automatically call back in seven minutes.”
He said if again, there is no answer, the program would automatically contact a close relative, neighbor or friend, and the local police department to make a check on that person.
“It’s really a great program that has worked in other areas,” said Miles. “I don’t know of any programs like this in the local area, but I’m hoping with the institution of the program here, other communities will catch on.”
Miles said the program is only feasible, right now, in the Tyrone Borough area. He said the computer program Reclamere is building can handle more information than is needed, so he is hopeful the program can be expanded to the greater Tyrone Area.
“Myself and fellow Rotarian Jim Ramsay are planning a few trips to some other communities that have the program in place to see how they are running their program,” said Miles. “Once we see how they are doing it and how they handle police response, maybe we can incorporate some of their methods to include all residents in the Tyrone Area Community.”
The program was made possible after the Rotary Club filled out a lengthy grant application and submitted it to the Foundation of Rotary International.
“We thought we’d receive about $1,000,” said Miles. “But to my surprise, we were actually awarded $7,500. After that, I knew we could get the program up and running.”
The funding will be used to purchase the expensive equipment necessary for the program.
The program is completely voluntary.
“We’re hoping people will see the benefits of this program,” said Miles. “We’re planning to visit the different nursing care facilities in the Tyrone area and make a presentation about the program so people will know what it is all about. We’ll also make presentations at other community events and other functions just to get the word out.”
