Medical Alert Systems

[mom31257]

If you have an elderly parent who lives alone, do you recommend any particular medical alert systems? Are there any brands to be avoided? 

My dad, who lives alone in TN, fell this morning, Thankfully, he was able to get himself to his phone and call 911, but he couldn't get up by himself. 

TIA! 

[itsheresomewhere]

The biggest problem you will have is getting them to wear it.  From experience, they will leave it on the dresser, why would I need that, it is annoying that you bought me this and every other excuse you could come up with.  We have had more luck with a cell phone being kept in a pocket.  A friend had better luck with her dad wearing an Apple Watch so he could call for help but not look “old” ( his words) wearing it. 

[Lecka]

I would maybe see if he can ask locally or if you can ask locally?

Where I used to live, everyone at church thought one was better.  

The challenge was that people had to have it ON!  

We had someone fall going to the bathroom in the night, and someone falling after maybe/possibly sleepwalking, and they didn't have their alert.  

The one that was popular there was a necklace, and people were happy with it.  

 

[Lecka]

Yes, it was almost intervention-level for people agreeing they would wear the necklace!  

I feel like -- after somebody had an incident and felt scared, then they would wear it, especially if they were a woman.

A man whose kids thought he should wear it?  Not so much.  

[Lecka]

ITA something that the person will wear, or that is popular among that person's friends/social group, will go a long way.  

[vonfirmath]

9 minutes ago, itsheresomewhere said:

The biggest problem you will have is getting them to wear it.  From experience, they will leave it on the dresser, why would I need that, it is annoying that you bought me this and every other excuse you could come up with.  We have had more luck with a cell phone being kept in a pocket.  A friend had better luck with her dad wearing an Apple Watch so he could call for help but not look “old” ( his words) wearing it. 

Agreed. My sister's grandparents had Medic Alert devices when she fell and then he fell trying to help her up. But because it was the middle of the night they just lay on the floor and waited for morning rather than USING them to call for help.

 

[athena1277]

If they won’t wear an Apple Watch or similar device, you can get Alexa or similar to put in each room.  Then he can just say “Alexa, call 911” or “Alexa, call (adult child or neighbor)”.  Of course, that assumes he is still conscious.

Edited January 8, 2021 by athena1277

[caffeineandbooks]

Someone else asked about this recently.  You might find some other useful answers in this post: https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/704483-safety-devices-for-elderly-living-alone/?tab=comments#comment-8832604

 

 

Edited January 8, 2021 by caffeineandbooks

[history-fan]

I used life alert with my Mom. She did wear the necklace. I liked that the program would contact er and me. When ambulance en route they would give them medical history and current meds, diagnosis, dr name. I had a lock box on the door and they gave the code to er staff. The would contact her like 1x a week to see how she was doing, they also had rx reminders if you wanted.  when I was looking at medical alert bracelets I found one that had digital option like a thumb drive with all info- I contacted the ambulance company and asked if they would use it and they had said no they nor the hospital would put a thumb drive in their computers. So I got the one with paper info inside. With phone or watch most don’t wear them in the shower or bath where many falls happen.

You might contact their local medical center to see what units work best with them. I think ours recommended the brand I got and they offered a discount.

 

also with this system I didn’t have to worry about connections if internet went out or power outages

Edited January 8, 2021 by history-fan

[prairiewindmomma]

The elderly one in my life uses medic alert. She will wear the watch band but won’t wear the fall detector pendant or use the portable device she is supposed to put in her purse when she leaves the house.

Yes, she has fallen in a parking lot without her amplifier. Yes, she has had a shower fall with broken ribs. Yes, on her two other falls with bone breaks she did not activate the dang device and instead used Siri to call instead because she didn’t want paramedics coming. The above advice about seeing what they will actually use is spot on. 
 

You may be better off putting Alexa devices in every room. 

[mom31257]

Thanks, everyone!  

He suggested to me today that he keep his phone in his pocket, so I think he wants to do something, too. He's never worn anything around his neck, so I think that could be annoying to get used to. 

Dh and I are driving up there to get him tomorrow and bring to our house for the week. We can discuss options and see what he's open to. 

He doesn't have internet in his house nor a landline. He has a prepaid cell phone and an iPad with Verizon data to it that we just got him during the initial shut down. I just wanted to be able to put eyes on him during times we couldn't be together, so Facetime has been great. I was proud that he was willing to learn to use it over the phone. I ordered and set it up for him and shipped it. He uses it to watch Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+. 

Dh is actually going to start looking for a job up that way, so hopefully we'll be moving near him. 

 

 

[klmama]

9 hours ago, athena1277 said:

If they won’t wear an Apple Watch or similar device, you can get Alexa or similar to put in each room.  Then he can just say “Alexa, call 911” or “Alexa, call (adult child or neighbor)”.  Of course, that assumes he is still conscious.

As I understand it, Alexa can only call 911 if you have an Echo Connect device and set it up properly.  Google has more info.  

[dsmith]

I don't know if you made a decision or not, but Philip's Lifeline has been great for our family. They have options for just the home, or one that can go anywhere. The fall detection has to be worn around the neck, not on the wrist unless they have something new I don't know about, but it has caught quite a few falls in the middle of the night here. When the button is pressed or a fall is detected it is someone from our local hospital that responds. We got a lockbox for keys and an extra booster unit upstairs as we have 4 floors with the basement and attic. Unfortunately it has gotten quite a bit of use, even with a total of 5 people in our house. We have our neighbor set up with them also. I very highly recommend them and will never go with another company. We went through a rough financial period a few years ago and they promised to never shut us off, even after not being able to pay for 6 months, and gave us a decent plan to catch up. Thankfully we are out of that period!