Jim Parkes is a member of the management team at Bendigo Retirement Village, a community for local seniors.

“We upgraded to MePACS from an autodialler personal alarm system which was at least a few decades old and certainly lacked capabilities that we really needed. It was based on having a landline phone and was just completely incompatible with new technology," Shares Jim.

Jim acknowledges that there were a number of reasons why Bendigo Retirement Village chose MePACS, but the most important reason was MePACS' 24/7 emergency response service and monitoring by trained professionals. "It really hit home for us and our residents," Jim said.

"The MePACS response service can assess and triage the kind of help that our residents need, whenever they need it. I was impressed by the number of staff and resources that are available too, and our residents never need to worry if their signal for help has gone through or not," he added.

The team at Bendigo Retirement Village liked the idea of having a pendant that the residents can wear around their neck or on their wrist. They were also pleased to learn that the home alarm has a range that covers the area around the home - from the front letterbox to the back fence. "It’s comfortable for our residents to wear the alarm all the time, and they can even wear it in the shower which is a high risk area."

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Excellent technical suport

A lot of the residents have also chosen not to have a landline phone installed, and as MePACS personal alarms don’t rely on a landline phone, it isn't an issue. MePACS alarms also don't rely on Wi-Fi or the NBN reliant either, so that ticked another box for the management team. "Our village is over 18 acres of land so it was great that the MePACS team came out and ensured we would have adequate mobile coverage as well," said Jim.

Jim shares that the MePACS team has been invaluable from day one. "We found that we had great rapport and consistent support during the application and installation process. It was a smooth transition for my team and our residents, and we’re confident that we made the right decision for our future."

From a management perspective, Jim thinks it’s fantastic how MePACS manage medical emergencies beyond the incident itself. "A big thing for us is making sure the families of our residents are also aware if they experience a medical emergency, and we get daily and monthly reports from MePACS to show how their service has responded to each signal for help. MePACS also do a monthly pendant test for the residents to check each alarm is working well. It’s just a win-win situation for everyone."

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Confidence and reassurance for residents

"MePACS answer calls for help within 2 minutes no matter what time it is, which really gives our residents great reassurance and peace of mind. It’s simple to use and most of them have gained a lot of confidence while living alone, just knowing MePACS are there if they need them."

"We know MePACS really care about the safety of seniors because they have a dedicated response team, they’re part of a public health network and have provided their service for over 30 years. Bendigo Retirement Village will definitely recommend their high level of service and expertise in the personal alarms industry now and into the future," said Jim enthusiastically.

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