Walnut Village Residents To Get Life Alert Devices

Tenants of the renovated Walnut Village housing complex will receive medical alert system pendants.

The Highlands Residential Services board approved a five-year contract for the devices last week. Director of Operations Chris Cassetty said it’s an economical way to take care of the complex’s disabled and elderly residents.

“It is something that we are taking care of for them. We administer that contract and every tenant there will have one,” Cassetty said. “You know, if that was your mother, grandmother, or grandfather, you would want them to be taken care of and I would too. It’s just a decision we made that helps take care of them.”

The old units at Cookeville’s Walnut Village had a pull cord emergency alert system. Cassetty said that system became outdated and needed to be upgraded.

“Some of the units had emergency pull cords. If they fell and pulled that cord, there would be an emergency light outside their unit that would light up,” Cassetty said. “But somebody there has to see that and then they have to call us. That was probably as good a system as there was 40-years ago, but we certainly have better options now. This will be a huge improvement for the tenants.”

Tenants can wear the new devices and press a button to alert a third-party of emergency situations. Cassetty said the cost for the new system is part of the per-unit subsidy that HRS receives from the federal government.

“Effectively, the federal government will pay us $10 or $15 more a month per unit,” Cassetty said. “It’s part of what we get in funding from the federal government, but it does not increase the cost to the tenants.”

The Walnut Village renovation project began earlier this year and will wrap up before the new year.