Montco Coroner Reminds Public To Check on Elderly Neighbors During Cold Wave
By Brad Segall
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- The coroner in Montgomery County is offering some advice to the public after the deaths of three elderly residents attributed to our recent wave of super-cold weather.
Temperatures are again expected to dip down to near record levels later this week and into the weekend, and that has Dr. Walter Hofman telling residents to check on their neighbors to make sure they have heat.
He says elderly residents suffering from dementia walked away from their homes in Upper Dublin and Lower Merion, and were found dead. A third person, from West Philadelphia, was taken to Lankenau Hospital suffering from hypothermia.
Hofman says social service agencies are overwhelmed because of changes in the structure of elder care.
"In the old days, the family was all around and the family took care of the person. That's no longer the state of the art -- the family can be thousands of miles away," he noted.
And Hoffman believes that all three of the deaths could have been prevented if someone had just checked on them. The county has now extended its "Code Blue" declaration until midday Saturday.