Deb James refused to let a heart catheterization sideline her from serving her clients through the Lifeline program at Indiana Regional Medical Center.
The 61-year-old spent little more than a weekend recovering from the procedure before she was back visiting clients across a multi-county area. James oversees the IRMC Lifeline, an emergency medical response program that gives senior citizens a greater sense of safety as they lead an active lifestyle. The program is part of the national Philips Lifeline family that serves more than 7.5 million people.
While there are numerous service options provided through IRMC Lifeline, the systems provide seniors a way to call for help if they get lost, or fall and cannot get up. At the push of a button, patients can reach out for assistance at any time of the day or night. The emergency buttons are waterproof, and Lifeline representatives such as James encourage patients to wear them in the shower and bath. It was worth it for one of James’ clients who got stuck in the bathtub and needed assistance.
“This gives seniors the chance to have an active lifestyle,” James says.
The Lifeline program is not covered by health insurance, so the options come at different price points. Because some of the services can be costly, James says she has seen community and church groups rally around patients to provide the necessary financing.
The program has been in successful operation through IRMC for about 30 years. Lifeline started with about 15 clients, but has since grown to serve about 400.
“I am hoping we can grow services in the future with expansion of additional equipment and technology such as Auto Alert and Go Safe.”
James is a one-woman operation. She drives around the counties IRMC serves with a tackle box full of the parts and tools needed to maintain the Lifeline equipment used by her clients. Not only does she handle the personal aspect of service, she installs equipment, changes batteries and does all the accompanying paperwork.
“You’ve got to be a jack-of-all-trades to do this,” she says.
The job can be hectic, but it’s something James enjoys despite the long hours in her car. She travels an estimated 600 to 850 miles every two weeks to visit patients. Those long miles and hours on the road can be tiring, but James says it’s all worth it.
“The customer service is what comes first,” she says. “Once you see the satisfaction you get from providing for family members and an individual, it makes you feel pretty good.”
In 2016, James began to experience back and chest pain while doing light housework or other chores. She opted to get checked out and doctors discovered a slight blockage in her heart. She was placed on medication, but eventually her doctors recommended catheterization, a procedure in which doctors thread a thin tube through a blood vessel that goes straight to the heart in order to bypass the blockage.
James went in for her procedure at IRMC on a Thursday in January. She says it was a simple process: The catheter was inserted into a blood vessel in her arm, and she was done and discharged shortly after.
“The procedure was as easy as going in to get a blood test done,” James says. “My doctor made me comfortable and I knew he was going to take care of me.”
James took the next day off to rest and returned to work on Monday. That dedication to her clients is what drives her.
“I don’t like to take time off,” she says. “There are people out there counting on me.”
