I live alone in my home designed by my deceased husband. The land includes 5 acres with about 700 trees. I have great support from two local brothers and two sisters who live a ways away. I'm in pretty good shape but do have diabetes and COPD. I fell the other day which incentivized me to start exploring the medic-alert bracelet or pendant. Need ratings or some kind of guidance re which service is better or best.
I wonder if you might be better served by simply keeping your cell phone charged and on your person at all times?
Check whether Consumer Reports has rating Medical alert systems in the past year or so. You can check out their recent issues at the public library.
https://www.consumerreports.org/health/medical-alert-systems/best-medical-alert-systems-a1136054281/
It looks like they rated them in November 2023.
I would recommend that you read reviews but I don’t have a lot of confidence in reviews. They aren’t always accurate.
You could start by asking your doctor if they have any recommendations on any particular brand that you can trust. They may have heard feedback from their patients.
I was pleasantly surprised when I asked my doctor about which blood pressure monitors that she liked. She told me about what she liked and what she didn’t like.
As far as alert devices go, my mom had the necklace type. Honestly, I found it to be pretty annoying and relatively useless.
Here’s why, there was a delay in the response from the provider. They ask tons of preliminary questions before contacting the EMTs.
Sometimes, it was difficult to hear what the service provider was saying, so I had to ask them to repeat what they said. When they couldn’t hear me I had to repeat all of the facts to them.
I found it much easier and faster to simply call 911 myself.
I placed a lockbox on my door and keyed in a code for the EMTs to enter. I ordered our lockbox on Amazon.
Good luck in finding a good device if you want to go that route.
The only advantage that I found in having a device is that the service will allow you to place phone numbers of family and friends in their system and then they notify them of your fall and let them know that help is on the way.
The other plus is that a person can wear the device in the shower. My mom didn’t shower alone but it is wonderful to have for people who are showering alone.
Nowadays, if I had the money I'd get an Apple Watch which I understand you can hook up to a local EMT/911 service. But: 1) you need at least an I-phone 10 to sync with, I think; and 2) you'd need one of the "big" carriers like T-Mobile, ATT or Verizon I believe. I have an "off-brand" carrier which is cheap but not always reliable. I did not find a wearable pendant reliable that I had paid for, so I dropped the service. Good luck!
I used to think that people were spoiling their kids when they gave them phones at a young age. I don’t feel that way anymore.
I remember my uncle telling me that there was a kid in his area who was being abducted from his school bus stop and managed to call 911 and report the incident. This 11 year old boy saved himself from being taken away by a stranger.
Cell phones are no longer a luxury. They are a necessity. They are truly a valuable tool for everyday communication and also help with our safety.
Gosh, I remember my dad asking me if I had change for the bus and a pay phone before I left the house. Those days are gone forever! Now parents buy cell phones for their kids.
Hahaha, it took a while for my kids to become responsible with their cell phones! My oldest daughter had hers taken away at school once for using it at an inappropriate time!
I had to go to the school and sign it out. She was not allowed to go get it back herself. She NEVER used it again in school after that episode.
I same thing happened with my youngest daughter too.
My youngest daughter had a friend who would put her cell phone in her back pocket and dropped it in the toilet 3 times! After the third time her mother said, “No more cell phones for you! When you learn not to place your phone in your pocket, I will consider getting another one for you.”
* tracks their location in real time
* alerts you when they travel outside boundaries are set / control
* allows you to listen / hear the sounds and noises of the area they are in
* allows you to call and talk to them without their intervention (it automatically answers / pickup)
* has an emergency button if they choose and remember to use it
* allows emergency workers to locate your loved one.
It does other things as well, but I found the above most helpful.
I am married to an engineer and am constantly amazed at what products come out in response to needs.
My husband has been awarded several patents for several of his designs.
If falling is a reality for someone you love or yourself, something that notifies a service that a fall has taken place, without you having to do anything, is a better idea.
I would contact the local fire department and ask them for help in choosing, they are always happy to help.
I posted earlier but would like to ask you something. How do you feel about getting a service dog? Dogs are trained for many different situations now and they are amazing!
Some dogs are trained to work with people who have balance issues, some are even trained to act as a brace for people who fall.
Others are trained to work with people in wheelchairs and do tasks for them, like turning on light switches and so on.
Just a thought…if you think that you would feel more secure having a dog around.
Wishing you all the best.
I went with Bay Medical, which was highly rated by AARP. I paid 3 months at a time for $9.99 month, with no upfront fees. Now that mom has passed I have to return the base unit or be charged $299. But it’s the same system - you give them a list of people to call, or they will call 911 etc. It costs more for automatic fall detection or gps monitoring.
The other companies charge you for the equipment upfront and you don’t have to return it, but they don’t allow you to give it away. The family of my mom’s late best friend offered me theirs, and the company (LifeLine I think) said she would still have to pay the full amount.
I did a pretty exhaustive search and comparison back in September 2022 and finally decided on Senior Safety Medical Alert (Get Help Now). They don't require a contract, and the equipment is "free" as long as you return it when no longer needed (or a $300 equipment fee is assessed). It's $39/month and we elected to pay quarterly, which also included a lock box for a key to be put in near her front door. We arranged for her local Fire Department/Police Department to have the combination on file in case we ever needed to gain access in an emergency, and her home care company also had it. (I live in another state).
They were VERY nice, friendly, helpful. She did have a number of false alarms, which they took care of in a kind, caring way. Always made sure she was okay. They did have to call her EMS help a time or two when she couldn't get up by herself.
Good luck - hope this helps!
Last year I fell, like a faint, and after I was on the floor I pressed the button. They had already sensed I had fallen and were trying to contact me. They called an ambulance for me. I live in an apartment complex. The door was locked. They told me not to move, they could enter, either getting key from complex office, or otherwise. I never knew what other way they could enter my apartment. But, they got here, and had to take me to hospital. The system works. They followed up with a few days later to see if I was okay.
https://www.lively.com/medical-alerts/
Make sure you choice of emergency device will work where you are located ( or are often located).
We got a device for mil, but we lived in the “dead zone” ( later verified by verizon.. it was a one house triangle maybe due to the nearby airport) and the service did not work.
They tried and tried to fix it.
Even our phone had to be wifi enabled and the wifi actually working.
I ended up getting the contract from her and tearing it up, so she could tell them what I did and that I wouldn't let her sign it. I was ok with her blaming me, because she was a nervous wreck over the pressure they put her under.
And she still somehow got stuck with some kind of $95 fee and paid it to make them go away.
We ended up getting something through Costgo that did what we wanted and even had GPS and was much cheaper. They let her end things when she wanted with no pressure at all. She didn't get a mailing label when she returned the equipment, so they never actually received it, but they were nice and didn't charge her or give her any trouble. (They waited a year before reaching out to me because she stopped paying, and took my word for it that she returned the equipment.)
I also have a GPS tracking device from them. As long as there is cell service they can find you using GPS. Say you went to a friend's house and the friend wasn't home, you fell down and since your regular device won't work that far from your base station, you press the button and they can locate you through GPS. The device you wear either on your wrist or around your neck only works for about 300 feet from the base station.
Both units cost me $69.90 a month. I think just the one you use at home is about $37.00 a month, I did not look around pricing companies because my friend's experience and my experience with my mother was good enough for me.
If all you have is your phone, and you fall on it and break a bone, you may be in too much pain to get it, also you cannot wear it in the shower where a lot of accidents happen. Too, if it is in your purse you may lose your grip on your purse and it falls out of reach. I wear my wrist device 24/7 because for me a necklace gets tangled while I sleep. I especially like it in the shower.
If you want to know more, message me.
I can't say Mom "needed" this type of help because I was with her a lot of the time. But I felt like I could leave her for periods because she wasn't "alone". Good luck with your research.