Somebody -- other than the obvious -- is looking out for the Sisters at St. Francis of the Providence of God in Whitehall.

An appeal drive is raising money to buy new personal emergency call pendants for the aging sisters who live at the sprawling 33-acre campus on McRoberts Road.

"Our staff knows that the older we get, balance is always a concern, along with problems associated with osteoporosis," Sister J. Lora Dambroski said.

The religious order, which has been based in Whitehall for more than 85 years, serves missions in the United States, Brazil and Lithuania. Of its current total of 76 members, more than 50 -- with a median age of 80 -- live in Assisi Hall, the order's home for its retired and infirm members.

In addressing ways to provide a healthier and safer environment for its retired members, Sister Dambroski said a "Falls Committee" was formed several years ago to review the number and location of incidents and to identify those more susceptible to accidents.

"It became obvious of the need for a new system," she said.

The 28 sisters who require the most medical attention live on the ground floor and first floor of Assisi Hall, which has an old emergency call-bell system consisting of pull cords located next to beds and in bathrooms. When activated, an alarm sounds in the on-floor nursing station. The order maintains a 24-hour nursing staff.

The system requires considerable maintenance, and replacement parts are hard to find and expensive. Plus, no system is in place on the second and third floors, where another 26 sisters live who require some assisted care.

The annual appeal drive started last year has been extended this year to obtain the estimated $80,000 to install a new system. A total 24-hour monitoring and emergency call system is planned for Assisi Hall. The project includes retrofitting the ground and first-floor call-bell system and installing one on the upper floors. New emergency dome lights and a central monitoring console also are planned.

Although a few emergency pendants have been in use for a number of years, they have a limited range and don't work in some areas of the campus.

New emergency pendants will allow calls from anywhere on the property. The system also will have pocket pagers for staff members and a pager interface.

"The new system will give our Sisters, as well as their families and friends, reassurance that support and care staff can be notified quickly in the event of falls, injuries and other emergencies," Sister Dambroski said.

A $20,000 grant for the project has been received from Support Our Aging Religious, an organization dedicated to serving the needs of retired religious persons throughout the United States.

Nick Rodi, director of development, said that two-thirds of the needed funds have been raised.

"We feel there is a tremendous need for this project," he said.

The Whitehall Sisters of St. Francis are one of 16 different congregations within the dioceses of Pittsburgh, Greensburg and Altoona-Johnston represented in an organization called the Women Religious in Western Pennsylvania.

By providing on-site retirement and health-care facilities, the individual orders hope to meet the challenging needs of their elderly and retired members.

Susan Isola, director of communications for the Sisters of Charity in Greensburg, said 100 members currently live in the order's Caritas Christi assisted-living care center.

Cheryl Aughten, communications director of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities in Millvale, said about one-fourth of the order's 90 members live in the Mount Alvernia assisted-care center.

Some orders, such as the Sisters of St. Francis in Bellevue and the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth in Ross, also provide public personal care centers.

Ransom Towsley, CEO of Holy Family Manor, said the facility that was originally used for its sisters is being converted to a public facility. Presently, it houses 22 sisters and eight lay residents. Renovations at the three-story building will double its occupancy capacity.

But the local Whitehall order will be the first to provide personal emergency pendants to its members.

The other assisted-living care facilities provide the standard call-bell systems.

"We're trying to address the changing health needs of our sisters and we want them to be as independent as they can be," Sister Dambroski said.