During their meeting on August 3, the Borough of Bath announced the start of a voluntary welfare check program. The program is available for families with elderly loved ones, young children, or family members with disabilities.
Relatives or parents can call the borough and provide the administration with contact information, healthcare information, and physical descriptions, along with a recent photo. Should their loved one go missing, the borough can provide this information to first responders to aid in a swifter search. In addition, during extreme heat or cold situations, the borough can perform welfare checks on elderly residents.
The program, stresses Borough Manager Brad Flynn, is completely voluntary. No information will be disseminated to other parties beside first responders. He hopes residents who have loved ones with mental disabilities or children with autism may use the program as another means of keeping their family members safe.
“I know [the need] is out there in the borough,” he said. He cited a past incident in which an elderly resident with dementia went missing in a wooded area off Main Street. Had the program and information been available then, he said the search would have been quicker.
Mayor Fiorella Mirabito says the program is an “excellent” idea. She said since January 1 to July 31, there were 47 welfare checks in the borough by Pennsylvania State Police.
Residents who are interested in enrolling a loved one in the program can call the Borough of Bath administration office for more information.
They can also contact office administrator Marena Rasmus by emailing Marena.rasmus@boroughofbath.org.
In other news, Mayor Mirabito is working with Sacred Heart Church to see whether the former school’s playground can be kept in the borough. Borough residents and parents of Sacred Heart Students played an instrumental role in constructing the playground, even raffling off a car to raise the funds. Mayor Mirabito hopes the playground can either be sold or donated to the borough. If so, it will be moved to Carl Rehrig Park or Paw Park.
