IV 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 751 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 17, 2009 Mr. Chandler submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Encouraging States to adopt laws that set clear guidelines for contact protocols for personal emergency response systems used by the Nation’s senior citizens.

Whereas personal emergency response systems (PERS devices) are purchased mostly by senior citizens; Whereas there is no Federal regulation specifying the protocol that should be used by the monitoring station when a PERS device is activated or whether such stations should first call 911 in order to get appropriate emergency aid in a timely manner; Whereas, in 2008, the Kentucky General Assembly enacted the Christine Talley Act (KRS 438.280) which requires that 911 be the first call a monitoring station makes when a PERS device is activated; Whereas this law was named in honor of Christine Talley who died after suffering a heart attack after the PERS monitoring system she had activated first attempted to contact her directly, and she was unable to respond; Whereas the monitoring station did not contact emergency responders until after she was found by her son and taken to the hospital, nearly an hour after the initial activation of the PERS device; and Whereas regulation of PERS devices by States may help to save the lives of citizens like Christine Talley by preventing the waste of valuable time in emergency situations: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that States should adopt laws that set clear guidelines for contact protocols for personal emergency response systems used by the Nation’s senior citizens.