The time has come to get my aging father some sort of emergency alert system to ensure prompt response in case he has a problem and no one is around to help him. I'm currently reviewing a bunch of brochures...lots of confusing information.

Does anyone have any experience with these things???

 

My grandma had one and used it when she fell in the bathroom. I never even knew she had it until after the accident. I don't know that much about like monthly cost but I'm definitely glad she had it.

 

I've honestly thought of getting one of these for myself, but never really looked into it. I'm 22, so don't really need it for the age thing, but I live on a farm. Sometimes I'm a mile from anybody who could hear me yell when I am doing something like cutting trees by myself, or in the garage moving an axle into place when nobody else is home. Can't always reach the cell phone easily. I'll be interested to see what people have to say about these things on here.

 

None of my relatives have these Ken but I can tell you from an LE perspective that I really like them. Our local EMS folks do as well. All of the calls for them come into our central dispatch here and generally, we dispatch with EMS in case they need assistance gaining entry into a residence. So far, those folks around here that have them swear by them. My in-laws are in their 80s now and my wife and I have already considered getting these for both of them and probably will.

 

I've thought quite a bit about this topic myself. My parents are almost 80, wife's mother is 88. I have wondered what would be the difference between the Life Alert with it's monthly fee or just one of those cheap cell phones with so many minutes that are good for a year.

When a person gets older there are so many considerations. If they fall and need to push a button for help is the cell phone harder to push a button on at that point. With either one, the person needs to remember to have it with them. Does no good if it's still sitting on the nightstand or bathroom counter and they are someplace else.

Mother in law has been living with kids for the past 20 yrs, she just changes kids every once in a while so no problem there. My parents are still very active. They each have an atv and go out on trails often. They go to Quartzsite every year for 4 months but I've seen changes in them the last couple of years. I have been planning on selling out and moving the 250 miles to where they live so we can be handy when needed. That's the best plan I can think of.

 

Good points. I guess the difference between the two would basically be that the Life Alert pendant can be worn around the neck like a necklace or on the wrist whereas a cell phone would need to be carried in hand or in a pocket. That would be the biggest advantage to the Life Alert type systems in my opinion....as long as they wear it, as you said. The other advantage would be not having to dial a number to get help since you just push the button on the pendant for assistance.

 

I know I am new here...but I want to give you some info regarding "Life Alert" type systems.
I have a "bit" of experience with these over the past "few" years...and will provide you with some good info for you to use...and will also provide you with a system for free at the end of this post.
First...my experience comes from 22 years on the street as a Medic/Firefighter. Second... I owned a company that dealt with medical alert systems.
First were going to deal with "Life Alert" type systems.
These (when activated) dial a call center, which has pre set directions by you/or the subscriber to execute upon activation. (Call 911, neighbor, contact family, ect)
The advantage with this type of system is that the "remote" is small and can usually be worn as a necklace or wristwatch.
One more advantage is related to the person who is getting such device... if they have Alzheimer/ memory type medical problem...then this type system is probably your best alternative. I will explain later.
The disadvantages...
1) When the person activates the pendant...they have to be close to the base station in order for the alarm company to hear them.
2) Upon activation...the call made is to an alarm company...not your local Fire or Police department.
This means that your getting an ADT, Life Alert, ect person...not a trained EMT....
furthermore...these people have to call your local 911 operator for you...
then...once the local 911 operator is contacted...their protocol is to contact you via phone....however upon callback...they get a busy signal, because your phone line is being tied up with ADT, life alert, ect.
"Not a big deal you say"... well when your local 911 operator makes land line contact with you...multiple information's are obtained...
First the address EMS is responding to is confirmed...which is then immediately sent to the responding agency.
Second...the actual nature of the emergency is noted from the patient...not an ADT, life alert, ect dispatcher.
Third...your actual location...bedroom, outside, bathroom...ect.
All this is then transmitted directly to the responding ems/police.
This is not possible through ADT...and 911 is relying on ADT to provide correct and accurate information to us.
Yes...they have been wrong...and one letter (a missing N, S, E, W) can make a HUGE difference in your address.
Most agencies have on board computers...that get real time data from our 911 operators...this is not available to us through ADT. life alert, ect.
Lastly...these remote type systems cost a monthly fee...sometimes an activation fee and/or set up fee, and a long/short term contract.

The alternative you ask?

A direct dial 911 medical alert system through Guardian Alert 911.
This system (once activated) dials your local 911 operator immediately. Goes right to a trained dispatcher...linked directly to the local police and fire departments.
There is no base station to yell out to...the pendant is the base station...
Information is relayed in real time to the responding agency.
No missed information regarding address...as this is transmitted directly to the responding personnel's rig's mapping software.
Any potential life saving techniques can be relayed via the trained 911 dispatcher to the caller... (direct pressure for bleeding, aspirin for chest pain, cpr instructions for a fallen spouse).
This system eliminates mis information, time, and saves you the monies associated with conventional type systems.
The only "dis advantage" with the Guardian is the size of the pendant...which is slightly larger that the prior systems available.
Here is the link to the Guardian...
https://www.guardianalert-911.com/?x=bab
and to the OP...send me your addy and I will send you a new Guardian Alert 911 for your father. It's the last one I had in inventory.
( With the memory/Alzheimer patient...chronic dialing of 911 will eventually be a problem with the agency...this is where an ADT, life alert, ect type system might serve best...they can call you, neighbor, 911, ect...to assist with a problem)
Regards,

Ken
(edit) Bigken... I apparently do not have PM privileges due to not being a contributing member (yet)... you can e-mail me your info and I will get this Guardian off to you. klram1500@yahoo.com

 

Thanks for the info and advice/comments. The brochures you get are rather confusing...designed to peak your interest...get a salesman into your home for the close. I'm not opposed to salesman...but...for some reason...I'm suspicious of them.

Ken...I sent you an email...please let me know if you receive it.

 

My Dad, who is almost 84, still lives alone. I am about 10 miles away. For his safety and my sanity, I got him the Life Alert from the American Red Cross. He wears it around his neck night and day, even in the shower. They install a sending unit on the telephone line. Range is over 200' in each direction, so if my Dad is out in the lawn and falls, he can still summon help. The procedure is this: 1. He presses the button to get help, 2. The 24 hour center calls over the speaker " Mr. R-----, are you all right? " 3. If he does not answer, or says " No " they call my home. If no answer, they call my cell phone. If no answer, they call the neighbor who has a key. Still no answer? Then they call the EMS. You have to give them the location of a key that they would use to get into the home. But all this is confidential, and will only be used should it be necessary. It is about $25+- a month, but well worth it in peace of mind for both my Dad and myself. When it was installed, the lady who did it also told my dad that, if he was in bed and smelled smoke, or heard someone break into the home, to press the button, tell the operator, and help would be on the way. Hope this helps, and " Good Luck! "

 

Buck...good info thanks. My dad just turned 83...he's a WWII vet...USS Massey. I have a brother who lives with him...and...a sister who lives about a mile away. They however...can't be with/near him all the time. That's why I'm looking into this...for his safety...and...everyone's peace of mind.

 

My father is 94 and lives on an acreage on his own. This last May he slipped down an embankment and got stuck in a beaver tunnel. He was there for 6 1/2 hours and was found only because I phone him every night at 6. We live 185 miles away and from April on are 450 miles away. I called a neighbour who found him and got the fire department and EMS to help him. The neighbour couldn't even get him out. He has Life Alert and pushed his alarm button several times with no results. The people receiving the alert kept phoning the house but never called any of the three first responders that were on the list. Needless to say the monitoring company got their faces ripped severely over their lack of follow through. Luckily dad was ok and his main complaint was that he missed his afternoon beer and pipe and lost a shoe. To sum up, the companies are only as good as the people they have working for them.

 

Please do not take this the wrong way...it's not intended to....but we are going to use the above example...and translate this into an actual call that we encounter....
We will use "Mr Smith"
Mr Smith has an alert system as above...
Mr Smith is taking out the trash, Mrs Smith is in the house...watching tv....she is also hard of hearing.
Mr Smith has a sudden cardiac arrest while taking the trash out...but had the mind to hit his alert.
The call center tries to reach someone in the house...but Mrs Smith does not hear it...no problem...they have pre set instructions to call the neighbor.
The neighbor is called, and comes over to the Smith's home... Mrs Smith answers...and realizes that Mr Smith is not in the home.
As they search...the dispatch center wait's for a report from the homeowners as to what's going on.
They find Mr Smith (8 min later) out back by the trash can.
Mrs Smith has a cordless phone, but can't dial out, because the phone is tied up with the call center.
The neighbor dials on his cell, which provides no hard line info to Fire/Ems/PD.
In a panic, he gives the wrong address...and Fire/ems respond to his home...no answer.
Dispatch is trying to direct the neighbor to do CPR, but now has to get correct address information...
The neighbor corrects, and fire/ems arrive...18 min after Mr Smith has sudden cardiac arrest...too late.

The "still no answer...then" is ok if your family member is healthy, and has no worry about cardiac arrest, stroke, or any potential life threatening situation...usually however...these systems are put in place because your family member has a "situation".

This is only one such situation that we encounter with medical alert type systems...are they "bad"...absolutely not....certainly much better than nothing.
And let's not overthink this...face it...most of our elderly don't travel too far outside of their house...so 95% of the time...the alert's are hit when they slip in the bathroom at 3am... after they get up in the am...and are having "issues" before their morning meds...ect.

The aforementioned is directed to re-thinking your pre set directions...and getting your local 911 system activated early in the call...versus...call me...then the neighbor...then...then... and if all that is ineffective...THEN call 911.

Also most people do not know that your local 911 has a non emergency line...that you can call...provide them information about your family member...so that responding fire/ems/PD can use during their response. This cost's you nothing.

In summary...and if you do use a life alert type system...might think about incorporating the "dial 911" early in the directions...remember...were funded by your tax dollars...better that we respond to find out that your Mom or Dad only need a "lift assist"...
than to live with the potential consequence of "should have called 911 sooner" because it made the difference in life or death.
I also suggest a lock box, and a hidden key location..and/or code access to dispatch...so arriving public safety does not have to force entry.

All of the above scenario's biggest enemy...is TIME.
If after reading all this...and the only change you make is activating the 911 system earlier...great...because ultimately...the time it takes for prompt defibrillation, initiation of CPR, thrombolytic therapy/door to drug time....is truly the difference between life and death.

Again...the intent of this is not to "hammer" anyone's decision on how they have determined to have a call center handle an activation....but to open your mind to certain "road blocks" that are not mentioned to one when setting said system up.
Ultimately this lies on making an informed decision between your family...medical history or problems that the system is there to "capture"... and your overall intended goals.

Hope this helps to some extent.

 

So the guardian is basically just a cordless phone? The downside to this is it would only work at home, or if you have room to roam, it would only work in or close to your house.

No monthly fee had me thinking I would get one of these for my neighbor, but I'd be worried he would try to use it when he was out of range and not understand why it's not working.

 

From the research that I have done so far...all the systems are tied to a base...with...a limited range. Unfortunately...my father can't manage a cell phone...he doesn't have the manual dexterity to bush the small buttons. Still researching...thanks for all the input.

 

That was my way of best describing it...but yes...kind of like that... with a 600' range.... no numbers, ect.
Once activated...the 911 operator will "come up"...like when your phone is on speaker.
This does not obligate you to speak into a base station located inside the home...the pendant is the "base station".
There is a self check feature with this system...which will allow you to find out working distance's...and note those distance's...such as 4 houses each way from home...ect. I believe almost all other medical alert's obligate you to be near the base station to communicate with the dispatcher/alarm company.

Ken...that's probably the biggest "complaint" by some of the people out there (with the Guardian)...that the pendant is "too big" to wear around your neck...this one is typically worn like a pager/cell...and has a clip that allows one to attach it to your belt...pants...purse, wheelchair, ect.
The button is not small, and could be activated with a gloved hand. (see below for dimensions)
If your not interested in the device...don't feel obligated. I will gladly send it to someone who feels that it will suit their needs.
Like I said, i happened to have this one left...and noted your thread.
I donated the ones that I had left over, to people that could use them. this one...which I was going to keep here at the house for a safe room....just happened to not find a home.
I have one "sales demo" alert here that I used for presentations...and currently use that one for our safe room.
I have the Guardian boxed up and ready to go...if your not interested...please let me know, and I will send it to the next person interested in this thread. Or if once you receive it...find that it's not for your Dad... send it to the next person on this thread...and maybe it will be the one for them.
All good either way.

Regards,

Ken

Measures about 3.9 inches high (top to bottom), 1.9 inches wide.