Des Moines Register. August 1, 2019

Have a medical alert device? Be sure you know how it works.

Des Moines has seen the number of false alarms from gadgets more than double, while consumer group raises concerns about location accuracy and call center response delays

A Des Moines Register editorial writer recently returned home from a bicycle ride to concerned neighbors. They said a fire truck and ambulance had just left her house after responding to a medical-alert device - a panic alarm worn on the wrist or neck pendant - that was geolocated to her address.

The paramedics had talked to neighbors, looked in windows, assessed the situation and decided to enter the house through an unlocked kitchen window. They were greeted by dogs, but no people.

That’s because no one was home. Interestingly, no one in the home has a medical alert device, either.

One has to appreciate the thoroughness of Des Moines firefighters. If someone was in need of medical help - perhaps on a bathroom floor or at the bottom of stairs - the diligence of our paramedics may have saved that person’s life.

But it also leaves one wondering who was seeking assistance. Did someone driving or walking by accidentally push the panic button on their device? Was a neighbor with chest pain expecting help to arrive?

And just how common are such false alarms?

“I believe they are increasing in frequency,” Des Moines Fire Marshal Jonathan Lund said.

The city’s firefighters responded to 87 false alarms from medical alert devices in 2016, accounting for 6% of the total false alarms for emergencies. In 2017, that number rose to 134 false alarms, or 10% of the total. In 2018, it increased to 213 calls, or 12% of the total.

In the first six months of 2019, firefighters responded to 139 false alarms from these devices. More accurate data collection could account for some of the increase, Lund said.

If emergency personnel can’t locate the person hailing assistance, they decide what to do on a case-by-case basis, he said. For example, cars in the driveway, water boiling on the stove or a burning candle may indicate someone is home but not answering the door.

His advice to anyone with or considering buying a medical alert device: Know how it works and who it notifies.

Though many Americans now have a cell phone within arm’s reach, more than 3 million consumers, mostly seniors, have medical alert devices, which may be set to notify a call center, a relative or 911.

But these devices, which can cost hundreds of dollars plus a monthly monitoring fee, may not be a good option. They can delay response time and waste emergency resources.

Consumers’ Checkbook, an independent, nonprofit consumer organization, partnered with Arlington County’s Emergency Communication Center to test 11 devices. Researchers hit panic buttons 290 times to see what happened.

The problems discovered were troubling.

“Some performed so terribly that we’re afraid their customers’ safety is at risk,” according to Checkbook.

At peak times, 911 call centers aim to answer the vast majority of calls within 10 to 20 seconds. The person who answers the phone is trained to determine the caller’s location, assess the situation and even instruct callers on starting CPR and stopping bleeding.

Pushing the panic button on a medical alert device usually connects consumers to a company call center. One of the devices tested, which cost $472, took an average of one minute and 20 seconds to connect with callers.

Those seconds can mean the difference between life and death in a true medical emergency. The devices are also notorious for false alarms.

“Some of the devices we tested sent false alarms during shipment to us,” wrote Checkbook. “Once they arrived, even more false alarms. On a few occasions our receptionist looked up to find paramedics at our office front door, ready with gurney, oxygen, defibrillator, the works.”

What about location accuracy?

That isn’t so great either.

Checkbook’s testing found medical alert companies often had trouble determining where calls were coming from. They couldn’t locate people, even within a reasonable margin of error, which concurs with reports from 911 managers. When researchers called for help from Arlington, one device “found” them in China.

Paramedics cannot help someone who cannot be found. And problems with the devices, or consumers who don’t know how to use them, could land paramedics in a house where the owner is away on a bike ride.

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Quad City Times. July 31, 2019

A new path for growth

Today, the United Way of the Quad-Cities is formally launching an exciting new initiative, the African American Leadership Society, a donor network aimed at strengthening our diverse community.

We have long believed that the Quad-Cities succeeds when we all succeed.

Unfortunately, too many people of color here are being left behind. That is especially true in the African-American community, where, according to data compiled by the United Way, more than half (56 percent) of pre-school children are living in poverty compared with 15 percent of white children; where 43 percent of African-American kids are reading proficiently at the end of third grade. Among white kids, that figure is 74 percent.

Meanwhile, African-American families are four times as likely to be living in poverty. Their incomes also are far lower than white households.

For kids growing up, these are significant obstacles.

“Sometimes we wonder why people don’t have the hopes that we had hoped they would have, or the dreams that so many of us have. It’s because the ceiling over their head is so low,” Rev. Dwight Ford, senior pastor at Grace City Church in Rock Island and a leader in this effort, told us.

Many of these challenges have existed for years, and we know there are a range of efforts that have - and are - taking place in the Quad-Cities to close these gaps.

The African-American Leadership Society offers a new dimension.

Leaders of the United Way and the leadership society who visited with this editorial board laid out a vision that was aspirational, that aimed to build a ladder of opportunity over the long term so each and every person in this community could climb to success. But they also have set more modest, short-term goals. Within 100 days, the society hopes to recruit 100 new volunteers, 100 African-American male mentors and 100 investors who are willing to contribute financially to change.

The Hunt and Diane Harris Family Foundation will match some of the donations.

Tracy White, who is the manager of the society, told us the effort will be homing in initially on third-grade reading levels and high school graduation rates. Only 83 percent of African-American students are graduating high school.

Officials with the society say they will seek to partner with existing organizations who are doing this kind of work, adding value to their efforts. In some cases, the society could help by providing volunteers or mentors; in others, greater funding might help.

In our conversations with the leaders of this society, we saw a commitment to a long-term vision with a clear-headed approach that fits in with the United Way’s overall goals of helping children succeed, fostering widespread economic opportunity and encouraging a region that is healthy and strong.

We commend the leaders of this effort; they are stepping forward to deal with issues that, to some, may seem intractable. Instead, the United Way and the leaders of the new African American Leadership Society appeared to us to be confident and committed to the ideal that, in the Quad-Cities, true achievement is widely shared.

We encourage the people of the Quad-Cities to get on board with this effort. Maybe your way of getting involved is by becoming a volunteer or a mentor. Maybe it’s by writing a check.

Whatever way you choose, we hope you join us in wishing this initiative every bit of success.

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Dubuque Telegraph Herald. August 2, 2019

Rules setting tax ‘holiday’ still taxing

After 20 years of administering Iowa’s sales tax holiday weekend in the same way, state officials do not appear interested in making the arrangement more palatable and sensible for consumers.

Nevertheless, it bears repeating: Having tax-free days today and tomorrow is a pretty nifty advantage for parents getting ready to send kids back to school or off to college. But the arrangement could go from good to great and send shoppers into stores, boosting the economy if the rules weren’t so, well, weird.

Parents in the area are stocking up on school clothes and gym shoes and everything else that goes along with back-to-school shopping. A 7% break on back-to-school staples is welcome. It would be even more welcome if Iowa would expand the list of tax-free items.

Most consumers’ biggest complaint about the sales tax holiday is figuring out when it applies and when it doesn’t. The list of what meets the criteria and what doesn’t is something only politicians or bureaucrats could compose.

Belts are tax free. Belt buckles are not.

Golf shirts are tax free. Golf shoes are not.

Cowboy boots are tax free. Fishing waders are not.

It’s pretty tough to intuit what makes the tax-free list.

Prom dresses, chef’s uniforms, costumes, adult diapers and steel-toed boots are tax-exempt.

Backpacks, football pants, ballet slippers, umbrellas and

helmets are not.

Good luck trying to find the logic in that system.

Here’s a suggestion: If we really want to get people shopping and help out parents as well as retailers, how about making school supplies tax-free? How about all the backpacks and lunchboxes and duffel bags that parents are buying this month?

Here’s another suggestion: What if everything that isn’t food and costs less than $100 were tax free? Wouldn’t that be easier to remember?

Of course, every tax dollar not collected is a tax dollar not hitting state and local coffers. There’s that much less money for schools and streets and such. But, while it’s understandable that government imposes some limits on this “holiday,” the current ground rules appear arbitrary and random.

Expanding the list of exemptions could give parents an even bigger break while bolstering the retail sector. Have you priced school supplies lately? All those pencils and notebooks add up. Throw in dorm-room supplies and we’re talking about a significant expense.

And why should Iowa have all the fun? Illinois has considered adding tax holidays but has never officially done so.

Wisconsin tried out the tax-free holiday last year over five days on a measure approved by Gov. Scott Walker. But under a new grinch … er, governor … no such holiday was declared this year. That’s too bad.

Call it a “state stimulus” - this is a great way to keep a little money in the pocketbooks of local families.

Here’s something you might not know: Even if you’re an Iowan on vacation and not available to shop today and Saturday, you can still take advantage of the savings. According to the Iowa Department of Revenue, items purchased by mail order, catalog or online are exempt if they are: 1) Delivered during the exemption period, or 2) Ordered and paid for during the exemption period, regardless of delivery date.

So, go get your coveralls, your shoe inserts, your aprons and your lingerie - all of it is tax free. And maybe by next year, Iowa will have uncomplicated the rules and made all goods under a certain dollar limit tax free. That would really give shoppers and retailers something to cheer about.

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