<p>I promised my 80 year old mom that I would look into something she can wear in case of emergency when she is home (alone). One of those bracelets/necklaces that will call for help in case of emergency. Not sure where to begin (online? in a store? a certain company? A certain style?)</p>
<p>Any help appreciated.</p>
<p>There are some that can sense a fall and will call the home of the individual as well as any emergency contact they specify and 911. The local hospital or med school geriatric dept or you department of health, executive office on aging may have guidance on the carious options in her area. A rehab hospital in her area may also have helpful suggestions.</p>
<p>The one we got for my aunt is permanently attached and does sense falls. It is a local company and reliable according to an outreach RN we consulted.</p>
<p>Is there a specific name of the item I’m looking for??? Medical alert bracelet???</p>
<p>By googling “fall alert elderly” I found this product. My mother had a similar one.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.lifelinesys.com/content/lifeline-products/auto-alert[/url]”>http://www.lifelinesys.com/content/lifeline-products/auto-alert</a></p>
<p>Yes, a family member had one similar to what dmd77 linked to as well.</p>
<p>I know we rented one for her through an independent company at first, but then found out she was eligible for a free one. I can’t remember if it was through Medicaid or perhaps the county’s Office of the Aging… </p>
<p>At your mom’s age and living alone, she should be able to get one free somewhere. (FYI the Medic Alert bracelet is just the bracelet with allergies or medical conditions listed on it–it doesn’t call for help like the necklace in the link above).</p>
<p>Edited to add: you might want to inquire at her physician’s office. They should be able to recommend one for you.</p>
<p>We used this one from Philips for my mom - </p>
<p>[Medical</a> Alert Systems & Service | Philips Lifeline ®](<a href=“http://www.lifelinesys.com/content/]Medical”>http://www.lifelinesys.com/content/)</p>
<p>She actually ended up using it several times and it was a great help since she was unable to get back up if she fell. It made the difference between getting help quickly or laying on the floor all night and maybe several days before someone happened to notice. Of course a person in frail health often can’t survive laying on the floor several days.</p>
<p>It was easy to order, easy to use, etc. It didn’t require a contract or commitment, big up front purchase, and wasn’t that expensive - it was just the monthly service fee (no equipment cost). This company states the costs up front whereas a couple of others I inquired about were used car salespeople who weren’t up front with me. Be careful who you end up using.</p>
<p>It’s also backed by a major company - Philips.</p>
<p>They make several models of alerting devices but basically you choose between a bracelet and necklace (she preferred the necklace - less cumbersome than a bracelet) and there’s a choice between one that’s just a button and one that can actually detect a fall. The latter is useful if they fall and hit their head or lose consciousness and then fall due to it. These are waterproof so they’re kept on while taking a shower, etc. which is important because a lot of falls happen in the shower.</p>
<p>Having a device like this can give them some peace of mind and allow them to live independently longer - it actually gives them more freedom IMO. I recommend people getting one if they feel they have a need for one or have a history of incidents where it’d be useful. Don’t wait - get one before the incident rather than after.</p>
<p>Another vote for Lifeline. With a caveat because I can’t remember if Lifeline products now have all the bells and whistles. There are now alert devices that will trigger a help call even if the wearer is unconscious and unable to push a button, as well as devices that still work even when the person is pretty far away from home base. </p>
<p>Check with your local vendor to find out if they have any sign up bonus discounts. Our local provider always has coupons for new customers. </p>
<p>Also, if any of your mom’s friends already have this kind of product and like their vendor, they may get brownie points (discounts) for referring your mom as a new customer. A win/win.</p>
<p>Good ideas. I will check with her area office on aging and maybe her doctor.</p>
<p>I just helped my mom install hers yesterday (Life Alert?). All seemed good…except, if she falls in the bedroom and pushes the button to call the service, I cannot imagine the main “box” where their voice comes out of being able to hear anything she says since it is located in her office! They said to install in in the center of the house and this is also where her answering machine is so we had to install it there. I have no doubt that she will hear the voice coming from the box because it is very loud.
I thought when she got this that there was a microphone in the device she wears around her neck…but no, just the one on the box. So i told her to call and confirm with them that if they get the signal she has pushed the button…don’t wait to hear her speak, just send help. Apparently the lady in the commercial fell next to her “box”!
She pulled the trigger on this service herself. I now wish she would have let me shop around a bit for her. I know there are many options.</p>
<p>That sounds pretty complicated - I wasn’t expecting a box to install! I don’t think my mom would want that either. She is really independent and not “old” but she just wants to play it safe and I think hitting 80 makes her think it wold be good “just in case”. Hoping some options are more simple.</p>
<p>
There’s a box to install. It receives the signal from the button and uses the phone line to dial out. Note that there may be some offerings different than this but I think this is typical.</p>
<p>The service itself installed the box. They sent a person out to install the box (like an answering machine style device - not a big deal), to test the setup to make sure it works okay, and to explain to the user how to use it - which really boils down to just pressing the button.</p>
<p>Although they’d like to be able to talk to the person via the intercom if the button was pressed, obviously with the fall detectors capable of working when someone’s unconscious they respond even if they hear no response (double check this with the specific provider though). </p>
<p>I don’t see why having ‘the box’ would be a deal breaker though - it’s not really complicated. It shouldn’t be a deal breaker.</p>
<p>Your mom doesn’t need to ‘be old’ to use something like this. It’s an insurance policy. Ideally she’ll never actually use it. But to be realistic, she’s 80 y/o and most (not all) 80 y/o people aren’t quite as spritely as they used to be, bones become thinner and more breakable, coordination isn’t as good, balance is not nearly as good, they’re more likely to have a stroke or other malady. The button provides some peace of mind and remember to tell her what I said about the greater independence it provides her.</p>
<p>As someone who fell down some steps and broke a leg at the age of 51, I think these devices are a great idea for anyone who lives alone and doesn’t have a regularly scheduled activity (like a job) where other people would be aware if they didn’t show up. It doesn’t matter how old you are.</p>
<p>If I hadn’t had a family member in the house when I fell that time, I would have been in a great deal of trouble.</p>
<p>I JUST went through this process last week with my mom. Did a ton of research which is difficult because a lot of the sites with “reviews” are bogus.</p>
<p>I went with Life Station. It was the most reasonably priced, has two operators on each call so that the person isn’t put on hold in an emergency (one operator keeps her calm while the other makes the calls), the call stations are in the US and NOT outsourced and there is no contract to sign.</p>
<p>When I called to get info, and it looked like I was going to get off the phone, the sales person found a way to drop the price from 24.95 per month to 21.95 per month.</p>
<p>We received it last week and so far so good!</p>
<p>Thanks for the price info EPTR. Will be seeing mom later today and will chat with her about these ideas.</p>
<p>Have you considered getting her a cell phone that she wears every day? This works better for us because mom can call who she wants to call- doesn’t always want the fire department breaking in when a neighbor will do. It’s something they should have anyway, and you can get simple phones specifically made for the elderly, with larger numbers and no complicated additions.
The key to any device is wearing it!</p>
<p>Getting a SR to keep a cell phone charged and with him/her is a challenge. If they REALLY want one, no problem. If they are reluctant and get easily confused, that’s a whole nother issue.</p>
<p>We have been trying for months/years with my mom and not made much headway. We have bought her various models and are now contemplating perhaps getting her an iPhone, so she and dad can have similar models (dad is good with his phone but she’s very technophobic).</p>
<p>In any case, some of the services allow you to specify who would be called and in what order so it’s not necessarily 911. Some services also allow the caller to remotely put you on speaker phone so you can let them know if the alarm was triggered accidentally or is really an emergency. I haven’t investigated lately, but believe it’s important to find out LOCALLY how service is–it can vary by region as to which service provides what is needed.</p>
<p>
We tried this route first before realizing it simply didn’t work well for the function and ended up getting the button. We even made a handy necklace carrying pouch so she’d be more likely to have it on her. However, it’d invariably be taken off before a shower (cell phone can’t be in the shower, the button can), it’d come off when in bed (even a small light cell phone is much more bulky than the button - the button stayed on while sleeping), it’d come off when recharging (the button didn’t need recharging), etc. Importantly, once it ‘came off’ there was a good likelihood of it ‘not going back on’. It’s “I forgot”, “I was just going to use the bathroom”, I was just going to get something in the kitchen", etc. and of course these are all places where falls happen (and actually did happen in her case).</p>
<p>Another point when using the alert devices (or even if using a cell phone) - be sure to have a way responders can get into the house without having to break in. This can be in the form of an electronic doorlock with a combination code, a combination lock type of lockbox containing a physical key (similar to ones used by realtors), or an external keypad that’ll open the garage door and then have either a non-locked door from the garage to the house or have the key from the garage to the house in a specified location where one can tell the paramedics where it is. The life button company can be given the code/procedure to be able to get into the house up front so when there’s an emergency they already have that info. I ended up doing the latter and installed something like the following (cheap - did it myself - worked great) -
[Genie</a> Garage Door Opener Wireless Keyless/Keypad Entry System-GK-R at The Home Depot](<a href=“http://www.homedepot.com/p/Genie-Garage-Door-Opener-Wireless-Keyless-Keypad-Entry-System-GK-R/202808537#.Unv4x3BJOSo]Genie”>http://www.homedepot.com/p/Genie-Garage-Door-Opener-Wireless-Keyless-Keypad-Entry-System-GK-R/202808537#.Unv4x3BJOSo)</p>
<p>One other point. The life alert, life station or whatever kind of button you get does not necessarily call emergency police unless it is warranted. They have a list of phone numbers of family members, etc that they can call first if the situation calls for that rather than EMT.</p>
<p>Be sure the SR doesn’t defeat the agreed upon entry. We have a relative who gave a copy of her key to her BFF. The BFF couldn’t open the door with the key because the relative locked all the other locks on the door. Another relative had to remove a window to break in and rush her to the hospital when she was discovered having fallen and unable to get herself back up and no idea of how long she remained laying waiting for help. </p>
<p>If worse comes to worse, first responders do try to enter causing as little damage as possible and reasonable under the circumstances. When the fire dept broke into my house because I had left a pot on the stove and left the house, they were able to break in and only break a small corner from one louvre to enter. I thought that was amazingly thoughtful and careful of them. </p>
<p>In an ER situation, entry seems less important than prompt assistance anyway.</p>
<p>Hi - bumping in hopes of getting any additional specific recommendations; so far it looks like Phillips Lifeline and Life Station have been recommended. We’re in Chicagoland so local as well as national companies would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>We’re going to try and convince our 85 year old mother to start using one of these. She lives alone in a condo and fell last August while opening a patio door - broke (or dislocated) her left wrist. As soon as it finished healing she went out grocery shopping in December and fell again at her car - broke her right wrist this time. After the first break, she got part-time at home care and didn’t like it. This time she went to a senior center for a couple of months and doesn’t like it. Last week, she slipped off the bed at the senior center and had to use the alert button they make residents wear. She’s fallen a couple of more times (that we know about!) in the last few years. Like others mentioned above, she thinks her cell phone is good enough. She also claims that every fall is for a different reason and won’t happen again. My brother and I don’t agree. In fact, the fall detection style and the daily check in are looking very appealing.</p>