DOC, HUSBAND GIVE PHONES TO ELDERLY.

Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer

LA CRESCENTA - The elderly patient was brought to the hospital after spending more than two days on her kitchen floor, her broken hip preventing her from reaching a phone.

Dr. Dee L'Archeveque was overseeing the emergency department at St. John's Episcopal Hospital in Queens, N.Y., when the patient was brought in. The experience convinced her that seniors need cell phones, preferably one in their pocket.

``She laid on the ground for literally two and a half days ... drinking from the dog bowl and eating dog food to try to stay alive,'' L'Archeveque said of the 1999 incident.

Because of what happened, the woman was moved to a nursing home, and L'Archeveque and her husband, Gary Lochansky, started the nonprofit Phones for Life to try to prevent such tragedies by collecting used cell phones and giving them to seniors.

Phones for Life moved to La Crescenta in September when the couple, in their 30s, moved there. It was a homecoming for L'Archeveque, who grew up in the town.

Now, the couple is working to grow operations on the West Coast after distributing more than 50,000 free phones to seniors since they started the nonprofit. They have taken advantage of a useful loophole - federal regulation requires phones not connected to a service provider to still have the ability to dial 911.

``The way they have it organized, it's so wonderful, and they're really doing a good job with it,'' said Rosemarie Iacovone, community representative with New York state Sen. Serphin Maltese, a Republican who represents part of Queens.

Maltese's office has worked with Phones For Life over the years to collect cell phones and get them to seniors in his district.

``It's a great program and it should be in as many communities as possible,'' Iacovone said.

Lochansky worked as an investment banker and has outside business investments, and L'Archeveque is well-paid as a physician. So together, the couple underwrite virtually the entire operation - to the tune of $20,000 a month.

And they both have spent countless hours reprogramming thousands of phones so seniors can use them. For Lochansky, it was a job he couldn't escape even during the Rose Bowl, because he had to ship out 50 phones to New York.

``I wanted to watch the game but I needed to program the phones, so I did it while sitting down watching the game,'' he said. ``It's a little monotonous, but when you go to the senior centers and you hand out these phones and these seniors are saying what a great program this is and thank you very much, it just makes it all worthwhile.''

The nonprofit has also recently begun setting up seniors with 100 free minutes for their cell phones. That way, they can receive a call back from emergency dispatchers when they call 911, or they can call for a tow truck if their car breaks down.

The nonprofit also helps seniors over the phone when they need help understanding how their phones work, and it sends them new equipment if any of it breaks.

For more information, go to www.phones4life.org.

Alex Dobuzinskis, [phone]

alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com