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Rob, Here in Connecticut a lot of churches, synagogues, and senior centers coordinate telephone buddy systems which help singles check up on each other each day. My next-door neighbor had one of those help buttons which she wore around her neck during the day and kept by her bed at night. In this area, the hospitals provide some patients with the buttons. There are also private companies that provide the service, but I expect they are more expensive. My neighbor's service was slick -- when she pressed the button, it automatically activated a two-way intercom so a dispatcher could hear what was happening in the house. He knew that I was next door and had a key to her house. She only used the button once: the dispatcher immediately called me, and the moment I was in the house the dispatcher was talking to me on the intercom. I was very impressed by the system's efficiency. In Connecticut, somebody -- perhaps the local volunteer ambulance association -- encourages people with chronic illnesses to participate in the "capsule of life" program. Participants put a decal in their front window which lets the ambulance crew know that the occupant of the house has put a vial containing information on doctors, emergency contacts, and medications in their refrigerator. That saves emergency personnel from scrounging through your things looking for clues to your condition, and it can save the doctors a lot of time if you have to be taken to an emergency room. A final suggestion, which won't apply in all cases: if you know and trust your mail carrier, you might mention to him that it would be okay to express concern if you fail to empty your mail box. It's not his job to snoop or check up on people, but the carrier comes to your door six days a week and certainly notices when something is different. The post office may even have some official protocol for carriers to follow when they think something is amiss. Kay (reading this newsgroup for a friend with PD) [log in to unmask]