By Loree Cook-Daniels

The Safe Outreach for Seniors (SOS) program, a partnership between New Jersey law enforcement, an Area Agency on Aging, and the Geriatric Evaluation and Management Services Program (GEMS) of the Kimball Medical Center, in late 2001announced the publication of their training manual and replication kit.

SOS is a three-year-old program that trains law enforcement on what to look for and how to refer elders who may need assistance, whether that is because of abuse or cognitive or physical declines. It began when an older woman was killed after pulling her car out in front of an 18-wheeler; a nurse discovered police had been to the woman’s house multiple times because of her paranoid calls, but had never considered whether such an elder was safe to drive.

They do now. They also look in refrigerators and cabinets and check the fit of clothes to make sure elders are eating, stop older drivers who are driving unsafely, and generally assess older citizens to determine whether they need social service and medical assistance instead of or in addition to police. Last year, police made 192 referrals to SOS.

Anne Mastro Howell, RN, who developed the program, has personally trained four departments. It is this training upon which she based the current manual.

Copies of the manual are available for $12 each (discounts are available for quantities above 11 and 51) from:

Anne Mastro Howell, RN, SANE
Safe Outreach for Seniors (SOS)
Geriatric Evaluation and
Management Services
Kimball Medical Center
Lakewood, NJ 08701
732-886-4797
Amastro@SBHCS.com