<p>I have an aunt who isn’t getting any younger who lives alone in a somewhat remote area … she has said several times how it would unlikely someone would hear her calling for help if she fell while working on her property. I’d like to buy her some sort of call button service, but don’t know if any of them are any good. Experience?</p>
<p>Yes, I ordered this for my mother who lives alone. The person wears a long necklace around their neck when home. If there is a problem, they can just push the button and call out. The service will come. The service can hear them from any room in the house. You have to provide the names of neighbors with whom you have left a key to get into the house. You also provide the names of family members. When you get this service and they send you the little machine (looks like an answering machine), they test it out. You say something from various locations in the house and they make sure all is working fine. </p>
<p>I can’t recall the name of the one we got as I left all the information with my mom. I’d have to research it over again. I found it through researching online. My mom lives in two different homes on each coast. When she moves, she take the little machine with her and informs the service that she has changed to her other residence. She hasn’t had to use it in an emergency but it is great thing to have if an older person or someone who has any medical problems is home alone and is unable to reach the phone to call for assistance.</p>
<p>There is a cheaper option if your friend has folks who would respond to a phone call from her. Radio Shack has a device where you can choose up to 6 phone numbers to be called. The individual can wear the pendant around his/her neck & push the button for assistance. If the button is pressed, the device automatically calls the pre-programmed phone numbers.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2117828&cp=&origkw=emergency+button&kw=emergency+button&parentPage=search[/url]”>http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2117828&cp=&origkw=emergency+button&kw=emergency+button&parentPage=search</a></p>
<p>The price is only $59.99 & there are no monthly fees. Most services require monthly fees that can range pretty high for folks on limited budgets.</p>
<p>I’m sure there are likely other devices available on the market (as our population ages). It’s something to thik about.</p>
<p>Whatever service you decide on, this is without a doubt a good idea. Make sure you invest in one of these products.</p>
<p>LIFELINE - types of things - One thing to consider is that it needs to be used within range of the main receiver - the one attached to the telephone service - OP - if your parent is outside and too far from the receiver - it will not work.</p>
<p>The pendant is either worn around the neck or on the wrist - like a watch band. The cost is around $30 - $50/month - not covered under medicare/insurance either.</p>
<p>There are a bunch of alternative products out there which don’t have monthly fees. If you go to Amazon.com and search for “emergency dialers” there are numerous products that pop up. Some allow you to purchase extra remote “panic buttons” rather than just having the one that comes with the device. Some allow you to record a message. Some allow the person called to hear what is going on where the panic button was pushed.</p>
<p>This model allows for a two-way speaker phone conversation between the person called & the person who pushed the panic button:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.dynamic-living.com/telemergency.htm[/url]”>http://www.dynamic-living.com/telemergency.htm</a></p>
<p>There are so many different products & services out there, it seems worthwhile exploring for a bit to get the features desired before spending money, so you know what you’re getting & that your needs will be met within your budget.</p>
<p>sushi - Good post, this has been on my mind lately. </p>
<p>HImom - Thanks for the link, I’ll check that out further.</p>
<p>If we can convince our elderly parents to carry a cell phone with them at almost all times, it could solve the problem since they can dial 911, call family or neighbors, it’ll work outside, at the grocery, etc. The problem is getting them to carry it around. Cell phones are so small and lightweight that it seems like it’d be practical enoough. Cingular has a ‘firefly’ phone that has large numbers and is geared to kids (which sometimes means it works okay for the elderly as well).</p>
<p>It seems like a good idea. We were researching this not too long ago. Just be careful. Some companies want a contract with a 3 year commitment, which IMO is ridiculous.</p>
<p>Another idea that is starting to take hold are simple cell phones - can be programmed easily - new ones have GPS locators so that they can be used outside a person’s home - which other programs do not have. Most of the present devices will only work - be effective - within ones home.</p>
<p>My folks do have cell phones but my mom tends not to have hers on & the battery is often dead (she rarely remembers to charge it). Having this as one extra device in the home may provide some additional peace of mind.</p>
<p>I agree that most of these devices are for in-home use only. Cell phones are a good idea, as long as the person is able to think clearly enough to call & has the phone on & battery charged. Prepaid plans with T-Mobile & similar are quite inexpensive. You can buy an inexpensive phone & the Gold Card for $100 & then only need to renew for a $10 card every year for the phone to remain active. That’s how we keep my mom’s phone going–so far, she’s had her phone for 3-4 years for a total cost of about $175 for the phone & all the minutes she could use. Folks can use cell phones if they WANT to–my dad is in his 80s & enters phone numbers & appointments on his. He uses his cell phone & has an individual plan independent of mom’s pre-paid.</p>
<p>Another thanks for posting this. My dad really doesn’t want to have one of these–kind of like “If I have one, I may feel that I CAN fall so I don’t want one”. But the other products suggested have possibilities. Thank you!!</p>
<p>I feel it isn’t quite the same as a cell phone. First, having a cell phone on you at all times might not be realistic. It might not be easy to find while in bed. It may not be on the body if in a nightgown, or some such. This device is right on the body. Another thing is that a cell might require more thought to dial and this is just one button to push. This is automatically received 24 hours per day by someone who will reply by voice and who starts to send emergency responders if needed. If the person in trouble can speak, they can speak from wherever they are at in the home, on the floor, in another room, etc. </p>
<p>By the way, my mom also has a cell phone, but it is like a complete waste. She NEVER has it on. I don’t even know if she knows how to receive calls no matter how much I tell her. Having a cell phone in her case, defeats its purpose. She ONLY uses it to call out when she wants to make long distance calls. So, she doesn’t use it so we can reach her if needed. She really doesn’t benefit from the cell in a way that is that different than a land line. She can call from a place other than home, that is it. But she never has it on to receive calls. If we were meeting up some place, I could not reach her, etc. So, even though she has a cell, I am glad she has this other emergency device now that she is a widow and lives alone and has some health issues. </p>
<p>I also have a sister in law my age who has MS. She is in a wheelchair. She is home alone often (though is married). She recently had a problem when she was alone and needed help. She fell in the bathroom and her fall broke the toilet which cracked in pieces and water was everywhere. She was not able to get up on her own. She had to call for help as her husband was at her son’s school concert and could not be reached. Luckily she had a cell phone in the room and was able to reach it from the floor to call friends. I think if she had had the alert thing my mom has, it would have been much better. She was lucky to have been able to reach her cell that she had brought in with her. Otherwise, she’d have been stuck a very long time on the floor.</p>
<p>One of the Lifeline type products can save a life. I know from experience. My Mom (passed away almost 3 years ago) lived alone and was in declining health due to several health issues one of which was a knee replacement gone bad that left her unstable on her feet. After several falls, we convinced her that she needed a Lifeline device. She gave in and got one to wear on her wrist. It saved her not once but twice. Both times she was going to the bathroom in the middle of the night and fell. She could not get up or get to a phone. She took Coumadin daily and was bleeding badly from cut that happened when she fell (on the second occasion). She pressed the button and the service notified her neighbors who came over and got her up and called the ambulance. She would have bled to death in her own bedroom without the Lifeline. Realistically, I doubt anyone would carry a cell phone to the bathroom at night.</p>
<p>You probably need both if you’re going to do it: one to wear at home (agree with the people who say someone isn’t going to carry the cell phone at night in the house), and a cell phone device for when they are out and the device doesn’t work. </p>
<p>Nightlights along hallways, etc, can help to reduce the risk of falls from inadequate lighting; also being sure carpets are tacked down and there aren’t uneven surfaces that can cause a trip. A home safety inspection is a good idea. </p>
<p>My dad’s broken hip came, not from an accidental fall, but from a kid running in the hallway in a hotel and plowing into him without looking where he was going, knocking him to the ground. Whenever I see kids running out of control now (in the grocery store, etc., as we’ve all seen) I stop them and also explain to the parents how that one out-of-control kid made my dad’s life so much more difficult and uncomfortable.</p>
<p>I’m seriously thinking of buying a device like this for my folks for MY peace of mind. They’re in their 70s & 80s & should anything happen to them at home, pushing a button would be easy. My mom thinks it’s a good idea & we will be giving the info to my sister, who will be living with her medically fragile mother-in-law she gets married in June. We’re also encouraging my aging great uncle to consider a device like this, so he can get help if he needs it. He’s medically VERY fragile.</p>
<p>Last year when my mom got progressively ill we all chipped in for a cell phone. She agreed to have it with her at all times. The real problem was when she needed to dial she couldn’t, even a single digit was difficult. Then we programmed voice activation, but she couldn’t remember where the button was to activate that. We didn’t “have” 2 years or more for a contract but did think about LifeLine, which I think I’m a fan of.</p>
<p>Just remember, once a person has fallen or hurt themselves fright may kick in and they may not even remember they have something with them to help.</p>
<p>These are tough conversations we need to have with those we love who are getting up in years.</p>
<p>Yea, at the best of times, my mom is intimidated by cell phones & technology. I’m thinking she might find a pendant with a button she can press much more “user friendly” than having to remember how to turn on & call from her cell phone when she’s frightened or in pain. Dad’s more independent & embraces technology, but who is to say how he’d be when frightened or in pain either (for that matter, how any of us may react).<br>
We’re lucky to live less than two miles from her & see her many times/week. I’d likely be the 1st responder to her & dad.</p>
<p>Got both. I recommend that you also get a second button (Lifeline)at time of setup. Also get the ambulance insurance program from your local service. If Lifeline can not get a proper response from the resident and from the 1st responder, 911 will be called with the emergency service bill going to the resident.</p>
<p>My mother got a Medical Alert from this company and was really happy.
[Assistive</a> Technology Services](<a href=“http://assistivetechnologyservices.com/default.aspx]Assistive”>ATSCares.com)</p>
<p>I agree with the push button suggestions. I got one for my mom after hearing my elderly neighbor laid on his garage floor for over 2 hours with a broken hip. His wife was in the house and assumed he was puttering, as usual. Mom used hers twice - both for nighttime falls, one of which resulted in a hip fracture. She had phones in every room but wouldn’t have been able to reach them as she did not have the upper body strength to pull herself over. With her necklace, she had assistance within minutes and was spared unnecessary fear and pain. Lifeline was truly a lifeline for her!</p>