Some of the major things to consider to get you started: -do you prefer monitoring at a 24/7 call centre, or are you satisfied to just have a system that is essentially an auto dialer -are you OK to pay a monthly fee or would you rather pay upfront to own your unit - are you interested in all the bells and whistles some services provide such as fall detection or daily check ins -do you want/need a unit that can be used outside the home - such as when walking for exercise, shopping, on vacation.
I just want to mention that the Fall Detection monitor might be an important feature to consider. Someone recently told me their MIL (lives alone) fell in her garage hit head and knocked out. The fall detection monitor saved her as she would have been unable to hit an Alert button. Help arrived in a very short time to find her unconscious.
I'm trying to get my elderly uncle to consider this upgraded feature after suffering a recent dizzy spell and almost fell in the bathroom. If he had been unable to hit the Alert button I would not have known he needed help. He ended up going to ER for scans, evaluation and IVs for dehydration issues.
As Geaton has pointed out the user has to 100% buy in to the idea because none of them will work if they won't wear the pendant or refuse to push the button because "they don't want to be a bother".
We used Bay Medical Alert that was ranked in the Top 10 medical alert systems by AARP for my mom. They were great! You must have a landline phone and they had an option of a bracelet or a necklace that the user could chose to wear. The peace of mind it provided was comforting. My mom did have to use it a few times when she was experiencing illness. If she pushed the button the alert was activated and someone would come in the speaker and ask if help was needed. If there was no response within a certain amount of time they would alert 911 or if my mom responded she needed help they would alert 911. They were super responsive and they also notify the emergency contact people listed in the profile if the alert was activated. They have an app that is user friendly as well. The price was reasonable and again the comfort of knowing there was assistance available at a touch of a button, that the user wore on a bracelet, was worth it. Here’s the link to Bay Medical
Monitors are “Good Servants” but can be VERY POOR MASTERS.
Unless the “fall notification feature” is included, there are many reasons why the elderly will not benefit.
My LO wouldn’t (WOULD NOT) “push the button”- “don’t want to bother anyone, don’t want the noise of sirens to let the neighbors know, too expensive, can’t charge the rechargeable batteries, too expensive, device doesn’t look nice when I go out…….”
Also, as my mom's CHF became more advanced and she became more confused, she would often "fiddle" with her necklace, inadvertently pressing the pendants button and setting off the monitor...usually in the middle of the night. She wouldn't even realize she was doing it, she would be in her own little world and would not react/respond to the call box, so I would get the call that she had activated the alert and wasn't responding.
Also, she took a fall about a week before she passed away, and the pendant ended up underneath her. She had no idea where it was and would have had no way of getting to it HAD she known where it was. I ended up hearing her yell for help.
It came to be a useful tool to assist me in caregiving for her, but it was in no way a substitute for someone physically being with her as her illness progressed. In the end, I had to purchase a baby monitor to be able to keep an ear on things with her, because she usually didn't remember she was wearing the pendant.
We have mobile help I believe it is called. It has a button on it that my mom can push and talk to someone if anything happens. I liked this one because the necklace didn't require another box in the house, it has gps and is under $400 a year.
-do you prefer monitoring at a 24/7 call centre, or are you satisfied to just have a system that is essentially an auto dialer
-are you OK to pay a monthly fee or would you rather pay upfront to own your unit
- are you interested in all the bells and whistles some services provide such as fall detection or daily check ins
-do you want/need a unit that can be used outside the home - such as when walking for exercise, shopping, on vacation.
I'm trying to get my elderly uncle to consider this upgraded feature after suffering a recent dizzy spell and almost fell in the bathroom. If he had been unable to hit the Alert button I would not have known he needed help. He ended up going to ER for scans, evaluation and IVs for dehydration issues.
Will she wear the monitor and not take it off?
https://www.bayalarmmedical.com/
Unless the “fall notification feature” is included, there are many reasons why the elderly will not benefit.
My LO wouldn’t (WOULD NOT) “push the button”- “don’t want to bother anyone, don’t want the noise of sirens to let the neighbors know, too expensive, can’t charge the rechargeable batteries, too expensive, device doesn’t look nice when I go out…….”
Also, as my mom's CHF became more advanced and she became more confused, she would often "fiddle" with her necklace, inadvertently pressing the pendants button and setting off the monitor...usually in the middle of the night. She wouldn't even realize she was doing it, she would be in her own little world and would not react/respond to the call box, so I would get the call that she had activated the alert and wasn't responding.
Also, she took a fall about a week before she passed away, and the pendant ended up underneath her. She had no idea where it was and would have had no way of getting to it HAD she known where it was. I ended up hearing her yell for help.
It came to be a useful tool to assist me in caregiving for her, but it was in no way a substitute for someone physically being with her as her illness progressed. In the end, I had to purchase a baby monitor to be able to keep an ear on things with her, because she usually didn't remember she was wearing the pendant.
I told her she couldn’t afford not to have one
get fall notification….
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