Fall Alert necklaces - know before you buy

My mom's monitored basic panic pendant lasted forever and the company provided an optional service where you had to check in daily, if that's the only barrier to remaining in their own home the monthly fees can be well worth it.

My mother's did not need to be charged. She did not have one that automatically alerted us when she fell. I had read some not great things about them, the scariest being that, sometimes when the wearer fell, it did not register; then the person was on the ground assuming that emergency services had been notified when they hadn't.
It wasn't a perfect system, but she did fall on quite a few occasions and the was able to use the pendant.

My LO's pendant didn't need to be charged either. She would not have remembered to charge it and/or she would not have remembered the process of how to charge it. Hers was waterproof and designed such that she never had to take it off for any reason. We did have a good experience with the falls detection and it performed when she needed it: An unwitnessed fall with likely loss of consciousness during a short period of time when she was home alone one day. I think it's good to compare notes on what one company offers vs another. I hate seeing someone pay for something and then it does not solve the problem.

I can tell you that the one from Humana was a pain. There was a delay in answering and mom couldn’t hear it. I suppose for some people they are okay. It didn’t work well for my mom either.

One really embarrassing thing happened to us. Oh gosh, mom was fidgeting with it when I was in the tub. I left the door open in case mom needed me.

She set the thing off somehow Next thing you know I had four firemen in my house that used the lockbox to let themselves in!

That day I took it away from mom and canceled it! LOL

I've often read comments about the delay in answering monitored systems - no, they are not instantaneous but I imagine the time lags seems much greater than it is. In our case mom was supposed to test her system monthly and I was often present when she did so I saw how it worked: an alarm sounded when mom pushed the button and a person at the call centre responded within minutes asking what the problem was, if mom failed to respond or asked for help the dispatcher began going through her list of contacts, local 911dispatch being the last resort if no one else answered. From there whoever took the call would have had to drop whatever they were doing and go to check on mom to determine what needed to be done and summon help if necessary - yeah, the whole process would probably have taken half an hour but for a reasonably capable senior living alone it was much better than the reality that they could have laid there hours or days before somebody felt something was amiss. All of this depends on the senior buying into the idea, because if they won't wear the pendant or push the button it's useless (it's also useless if the person is manipulative and chooses to use it inappropriately).

cwille,

Yes, the product and services vary. They certainly have advantages and disadvantages.

Is there an emergency pendent one can get that doesn't automatically alert friends or family? Can one simply get help from, perhaps, fire dept or paramedics and pay for their response. What if no family is available close enough to respond? What if someone does not want to impose on friends to come to the rescue in case of a fall or other mishap?

The few times that I fell, it was a surprise to me, and I was not 'that' age yet.
(If there is such an age). I was in a great hurry, and needed to slow down as I age. And found that 'protocol' medications for the aging were causing falls in my case. Statins, high blood pressure, and gerd meds were all suspect, (in my case only).

A whistle on my key chain worked to call for help, neighbors heard it, even though it took awhile. They are hard of hearing. Wearing a whistle (loud) around your neck is one solution, even though not perfect.

Once I tripped over rushing the laundry cart home, finding that after physical exertion, it was more likely that I would fall if tired. My husband was nearby, and a neighbor came. But it helped to lie there awhile and recover. I had broken my ankle, but it was not discovered until the next fall a year later, even though I had seen the doctor and they x-rayed my foot, not my ankle.

Another tech thing, is your car alarm. Set it off.

It is important early on to discover the medical reasons for falls, early on. It is not a normal part of aging. My elder was falling frequently at age 82, but once he was better taken care of, the falls stopped.

Hope you find a better solution to meet your Mom's needs, Bolliveb. Bringing this topic up will save some people the expense, as I have often read on here that with dementia or alzheimers, they do not use the necklace.

Dosmo,

With our device the provider offered to make phone calls to anyone that I requested to be called. You can supply names and numbers and they do all follow up calls.

NeedHelpWithMom-- I don't know whose numbers to supply to a safety pendant company. That's the problem. I have no relatives closer than a 5hr. drive. And I don't want to bother my friends to leave their work-place to come pick me up if I fall. I have friends that I see socially, but It's not like I'm a family member that they feel responsible for (nor do I want them to). Chances are, if I fall, it's not a real emergency, but I still may need some help.

My mom's did not need charging.  If no relatives live near, you may have to call 911.  Our service recommended leaving a key in a lockbox (like what the real estate people use) by the front door.

We had a lock box at our home. I supplied numbers so I didn’t have to call anyone. They offered to make calls for me. It’s a nice service to have.

Florida,

Convenient not to have to charge it. Great feature!

The worst for me was that I was taking a bath, had the door open so mom could enter the bathroom if she needed me, mom fell in her room, fireman entered my house with lock box key. Scared the h*ll out of me seeing four firemen walking down my hall.

Hey, fall detection worked on her device!

Hahaha, mom and I laughed about it later.

I tried to have my mother use one but although she welcomed the idea she does not feel the need to wear it that often. Recently we have been trying more successfully an app on her smartphone that requires her to check-in 3 times a day. At least I know she is ok instead of wondering if she is wearing the pendant.

The smart phone 'bracelet' thing is a good option. My daughter has those on her 3 kids. She can track them all day long AND talk to them through it. They can't call friends, it's strictly a 'two way only' device.

Both my MIL and mom have fall pendants and both take them off when they shower/bathe. What's the point, then? That's when they've both fallen!

Mom is so bent over, hers whacks the walker as she walks and sets off the alarm. She also has washed it a dozen or more times.

As loud as that in house alarm is, MIL cannot hear it, and more than once has looked up from the TV to see firemen ready to break a window to get in. She just gets so mad. After X many 'no call' calls, they charge her for coming out when 3 family members should have gotten the 'call' and good grief--the alarm sound is deafening!

I have no say in the care of either woman, but I have commented on my daughter's kids 'watches'. She can talk to them at any time. The watches are kind of 'cool' and their whole neighborhood has them.

I have mentioned the watch to DH and he made a face and said "the last thing in the WORLD I want is to be reconnected to my mom like that"....but his SIL would wear one. IDK, each person is different.