A new partnership between the Crawfordsville Fire Department and the Montgomery County Council on Aging is helping care for an aging population.
Earlier this month, the first of four Knox Boxes was installed at the home of Maddy Kiger, a patient of the Mobile Integrated Health Community Paramedicine program operated by the city fire department. Funding for the purchase of the boxes came from the Montgomery County Council on Aging.
A Knox Box is a secure key vault that mounts over the door of a residential property and inside is a key to the resident’s home. The only keys available to open the Knox Box are in possession of the fire department. When there is an emergency, the fire department can access the key safe and use the resident’s key to enter the home safely with minimal barriers, no damage to windows or doors and reduced potential for injury.
Paramedicine program social worker Lyndsey Sparrow works directly with the aging population who experience frequent falls in their homes. She provides home assessments, social resources and home safety equipment such as smoke detectors and Knox Boxes.
“We are very thankful for our partnership with the Montgomery County Council on Aging,” Sparrow said. “With their donation, we can continue our mission to provide the best possible care for our aging population in Montgomery County.”
The CFD’s Mobile Integrated Health Community Paramedicine Program is nationally-recognized and functions to address healthcare issues and gaps in the Crawfordsville and Montgomery County community. The paramedicine program has implemented numerous MIH-CP programs in chronic disease management, high-risk maternal and infant healthcare, and a Quick Response Team that works with frequent fallers, substance use, and behavioral health patients to protect citizens cradle to grave.
“The Montgomery County Council on Aging so appreciates the work of the paramedicine program, especially for their focus on our senior population,” said Kitty Haffner, MCCA treasurer. “If there is an opportunity to collaborate and support this amazing group of people, we will. The Knox Box provides an additional safety net for our loved ones.”
Kiger said the addition of the Knox Box is a “wonderful idea and thank you to everyone who is participating in putting it on.”
Division Chief Brian Bechtel installed the box for Kiger and explained how the master key accesses the unit that holds a spare key to her residence. A sticker also was placed on Kiger’s door to alert emergency personnel of the access for entry.
The remaining three donated Knox Boxes will be installed at patient homes based on need as determined by the community paramedics.
