Wichita Lifeline, Inc. provides personal emergency response services. Our organization allows an individual (subscriber) to remain in their home and yet, have the security of knowing that help is only a button push away. Our subscribers are monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our staff is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Using one’s natural support system of neighbors, friends, and family, Lifeline can send someone to the subscriber’s home within minutes. If the situation is more serious, emergency services are dispatched.

In 1982, Dr. Cramer Reed realized what a vital service Lifeline provides and what it could mean to individuals wanting to remain living independently in their own home. With Dr. Reed’s vision, Wichita Lifeline was established. As we look back over the years, a few things have changed.

We began with a small one room, basement office. Our subscriber’s information was kept on index cards, in a small file box with meticulous details on an individual’s age, health concerns, medical allergies, physician and family contacts. A Board of Trustees was assembled, our mission established, and community partnerships began to develop.
Now, more than 20 years later, Wichita Lifeline, Inc. is the 29th largest program in the United States and Canada. Currently, we serve more than over 2,000 subscribers. Along with these over 2,000 individuals, there are family members, friends, neighbors, and caregivers all counting on Lifeline to respond within minutes, once a button is pushed.

Physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals refer patients to us on a daily basis. They too, count on Lifeline to deliver help at a moment’s notice. When you consider the number of persons depending on Lifeline, it can be overwhelming. Thus, for more than 20 years, we have focused on providing this one service with all of the commitment, dedication and compassion possible.

Today, we serve Wichita and 37 surrounding communities. As the number of subscribers has increased, so have we! Today, it requires a fifteen member Board of Trustees, two volunteers, five staff members, over 2,000 state of the art communication monitors, a sophisticated computer system, and many community organizations, to continue Dr. Reed’s vision.

Looking forward, we know there remains a tremendous demand for the Lifeline service. We will continue our commitment to serve subscribers and their families with the same 24-hour a day, seven days a week dedication, and compassion for the next 20 years!