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News Specialist Jill Atwood reporting
A tragedy in a Sandy neighborhood has friends and family wishing they could turn back the clock, and county aging services eager to spread a message.
Older loved ones or neighbors need a little extra attention, even if they insist they don't need it or want it.
A 72-year-old Sandy woman lay on the floor of her home over the Thanksgiving weekend hurt and in need of help.
She lay there for several days, but no one knew, until finally a neighbor peeked through the window. If only someone had peeked sooner.
She didn't show up for Thanksgiving at her daughter's house out of state, and the 72-year-old also wasn't answering her phone.
"She was so proud of herself and her independence and being able to maintain things on her own."
Neighbors assumed she had left town for the holiday, but yesterday morning after family members finally got in touch with a neighbor, they realized in horror that she had never left.
Either a fall or some sort of medical emergency left her lying on the floor unable to call for help. She was still alive when paramedics first got to her, but they were unable to save her.
"Just the shock and just in fear that she had been suffering for a long time, and that we were all here and had happy Thanksgivings and been around family, and she was alone," says neighbor Amy Rudd.
Nancy Stallings is with Salt Lake County Aging Services. She says it's for this very reason that neighbors and families need to set up some sort of a communication system.
"Older people aren't out and around as much as younger people are. They don't go to school or people don't miss them if they don't go to school or don't make an appearance. A lot of times they're at home because they don't drive or they don't feel well," Stallings says.
It can be as formal as a welfare check by a police officer or neighborhood watch, or as informal as a knock on the door or a light in the window.
"I can give you my phone number or a key to my house in case of an emergency. If I didn't pull my drapes by 9:00 in the morning, you would call and say are you OK?"
"You make fun of all the commercials -- the 'I've fallen down and can't get up,' with the buzzers, but I really do think there needs to be a system in place, some sort of family network or a neighbor network."
Wintertime is especially hard on the elderly, because they tend to get out of the house even less.
