Medical Alert Systems? (OT)

We've all seen the commercials (and heard the jokes). "Help! I've fallen
and I can't get up!" But it's a real concern for seniors living alone.
(Good lord, I sound like a commercial.) Does anyone have any experience
with these types of systems/services? Any recommendations? Any idea about
costs? A quick search shows anything from $12.95/month to $50/month after
equipment purchase. Some services connect directly to a 911 operator, the
others appear to be similar to OnStar service for your car; they call the
appropriate people after talking with you.

Mom has expressed curiousity about a system like this after seeing some ads
on TV. There *are* emergency buttons on the security system panels but
she'd have to be able to get to one of them. (And she didn't even realize
they were there until I pointed it out.)

Mom's next door neighbor will gladly pop in and check on her every few days.
But she works 3-4 days a week and has a social life to boot I just don't
want to have to worry constantly after I leave, even for the short-term.

An Aside: Thanks for all the suggestions I've gotten in the past. Just so
you know, Mom isn't a joiner. I've mentioned going to the community center
on the island; she's not interested. I'm not sure she can even go to it;
she and my dad sold their club membership about 3 years ago and access may
be tied to that. (I *do* know you can't use the driving range, golf course,
tennis courts, pool or even eat at the club unless you're a member.) I know
for a fact she won't drive herself into town to go to the senior center.
(It's a bit of a long drive anyway.)

Jill

On Apr 2, 7:47*am, "jmcquown" wrote:
We've all seen the commercials (and heard the jokes). *"Help! I've fallen
and I can't get up!" *But it's a real concern for seniors living alone.
(Good lord, I sound like a commercial.) *Does anyone have any experience
with these types of systems/services? *Any recommendations? *Any idea about
costs? *A quick search shows anything from $12.95/month to $50/month after
equipment purchase. *Some services connect directly to a 911 operator, the
others appear to be similar to OnStar service for your car; they call the
appropriate people after talking with you.

Mom has expressed curiousity about a system like this after seeing some ads
on TV. *There *are* emergency buttons on the security system panels but
she'd have to be able to get to one of them. *(And she didn't even realize
they were there until I pointed it out.)

Mom's next door neighbor will gladly pop in and check on her every few days.
But she works 3-4 days a week and has a social life to boot *I just don't
want to have to worry constantly after I leave, even for the short-term.

An Aside: *Thanks for all the suggestions I've gotten in the past. *Just so
you know, Mom isn't a joiner. *I've mentioned going to the community center
on the island; she's not interested. *I'm not sure she can even go to it;
she and my dad sold their club membership about 3 years ago and access may
be tied to that. *(I *do* know you can't use the driving range, golf course,
tennis courts, pool or even eat at the club unless you're a member.) *I know
for a fact she won't drive herself into town to go to the senior center.
(It's a bit of a long drive anyway.)

Jill

I don't have any specific info., but IMO it would be a wonderful thing
for your
mom. It would give her confidence and give you more peace of mind. We
were starting to look at one for Dad, but he gave up on staying home
and
wanted to go back to skilled nursing care. The brand I was looking at
was called "Lifeline", but there are many. IIRC *you* tell them which
numbers
to phone after the button is activated and they are alerted. And
alternate
numbers, just so someone will be reached if they can't reach you.

Sherry

"jmcquown" wrote in message
. ..
We've all seen the commercials (and heard the jokes). "Help! I've fallen
and I can't get up!" But it's a real concern for seniors living alone.
(Good lord, I sound like a commercial.) Does anyone have any experience
with these types of systems/services? Any recommendations? Any idea
about costs? A quick search shows anything from $12.95/month to $50/month
after equipment purchase. Some services connect directly to a 911
operator, the others appear to be similar to OnStar service for your car;
they call the appropriate people after talking with you.

Mom has expressed curiousity about a system like this after seeing some
ads on TV. There *are* emergency buttons on the security system panels
but she'd have to be able to get to one of them. (And she didn't even
realize they were there until I pointed it out.)

Mom's next door neighbor will gladly pop in and check on her every few
days. But she works 3-4 days a week and has a social life to boot I
just don't want to have to worry constantly after I leave, even for the
short-term.

An Aside: Thanks for all the suggestions I've gotten in the past. Just
so you know, Mom isn't a joiner. I've mentioned going to the community
center on the island; she's not interested. I'm not sure she can even go
to it; she and my dad sold their club membership about 3 years ago and
access may be tied to that. (I *do* know you can't use the driving range,
golf course, tennis courts, pool or even eat at the club unless you're a
member.) I know for a fact she won't drive herself into town to go to the
senior center. (It's a bit of a long drive anyway.)

Jill

The woman who was my mother's roommate in the nursing home for about a year
was later able to move back to an apartment on her own. I still visit her
an take her out to dinner occasionally. She has that system, and it has
worked very well for her. The one she has is a device that she wears around
her neck (like a necklace) at all times when she is at home. She presses a
button if she is in distress. There is also some sort of "home base" unit
like you described. She presses a button on that once a day to show that
she is alright, and she needs to remove the one from around her neck any
time she leaves the premises. I'm not sure about more details than that,
but it works well for her. On the other hand, she is *very good* about
always wearing it when she is home and also remembering to take it off when
she leaves home base. She places it on her bed any time she needs to remove
it (such as for a bath), and that serves as an immediate reminder to put it
on again. I think she pays about $35.00 a month. I could ask for more
details if this sounds like what your mother needs. I know there are some
systems that are administered by some hospitals, and others are are
available only through commercial outlets.

MaryL

My neighbor has this but is about to not have. Everytime something doesn't
work the way she wants, she "pushes the button". Someone knocked at her
door and she couldn't go answer it so she called them. Set a lot of things
in motion before they had to be cancelled. They have to understand what it
is for and, when some need it they are past that point.
"jmcquown" wrote in message
. ..
We've all seen the commercials (and heard the jokes). "Help! I've fallen
and I can't get up!" But it's a real concern for seniors living alone.
(Good lord, I sound like a commercial.) Does anyone have any experience
with these types of systems/services? Any recommendations? Any idea
about costs? A quick search shows anything from $12.95/month to $50/month
after equipment purchase. Some services connect directly to a 911
operator, the others appear to be similar to OnStar service for your car;
they call the appropriate people after talking with you.

Mom has expressed curiousity about a system like this after seeing some
ads on TV. There *are* emergency buttons on the security system panels
but she'd have to be able to get to one of them. (And she didn't even
realize they were there until I pointed it out.)

Mom's next door neighbor will gladly pop in and check on her every few
days. But she works 3-4 days a week and has a social life to boot I
just don't want to have to worry constantly after I leave, even for the
short-term.

An Aside: Thanks for all the suggestions I've gotten in the past. Just
so you know, Mom isn't a joiner. I've mentioned going to the community
center on the island; she's not interested. I'm not sure she can even go
to it; she and my dad sold their club membership about 3 years ago and
access may be tied to that. (I *do* know you can't use the driving range,
golf course, tennis courts, pool or even eat at the club unless you're a
member.) I know for a fact she won't drive herself into town to go to the
senior center. (It's a bit of a long drive anyway.)

Jill

Granby wrote:
My neighbor has this but is about to not have. Everytime something
doesn't work the way she wants, she "pushes the button". Someone
knocked at her door and she couldn't go answer it so she called them.
Set a lot of things in motion before they had to be cancelled. They
have to understand what it is for and, when some need it they are
past that point.

Ah, sort of like people who call 911 for non-emergencies. Trust me, Mom
would know what it's for. She would probably hesitate to push the button
even if she couldn't get off the floor! She "hates to bother anyone".
(sigh)

Jill

"jmcquown" wrote in message
. ..
We've all seen the commercials (and heard the jokes). "Help! I've
fallen and I can't get up!" But it's a real concern for seniors
living alone. (Good lord, I sound like a commercial.) Does anyone
have any experience with these types of systems/services? Any
recommendations? Any idea about costs? A quick search shows
anything from $12.95/month to $50/month after equipment purchase. Some
services connect directly to a 911 operator, the others appear
to be similar to OnStar service for your car; they call the
appropriate people after talking with you. Mom has expressed curiousity
about a system like this after seeing
some ads on TV. There *are* emergency buttons on the security
system panels but she'd have to be able to get to one of them. (And
she didn't even realize they were there until I pointed it out.)

Mom's next door neighbor will gladly pop in and check on her every
few days. But she works 3-4 days a week and has a social life to
boot I just don't want to have to worry constantly after I
leave, even for the short-term.

An Aside: Thanks for all the suggestions I've gotten in the past. Just
so you know, Mom isn't a joiner. I've mentioned going to the
community center on the island; she's not interested. I'm not sure
she can even go to it; she and my dad sold their club membership
about 3 years ago and access may be tied to that. (I *do* know you
can't use the driving range, golf course, tennis courts, pool or
even eat at the club unless you're a member.) I know for a fact she
won't drive herself into town to go to the senior center. (It's a
bit of a long drive anyway.) Jill

"jmcquown" wrote in message
. ..
We've all seen the commercials (and heard the jokes). "Help! I've fallen
and I can't get up!" But it's a real concern for seniors living alone.
(Good lord, I sound like a commercial.) Does anyone have any experience
with these types of systems/services? Any recommendations? Any idea
about costs? A quick search shows anything from $12.95/month to $50/month
after equipment purchase. Some services connect directly to a 911
operator, the others appear to be similar to OnStar service for your car;
they call the appropriate people after talking with you.

Mom has expressed curiousity about a system like this after seeing some
ads on TV. There *are* emergency buttons on the security system panels
but she'd have to be able to get to one of them. (And she didn't even
realize they were there until I pointed it out.)

Mom's next door neighbor will gladly pop in and check on her every few
days. But she works 3-4 days a week and has a social life to boot I
just don't want to have to worry constantly after I leave, even for the
short-term.

An Aside: Thanks for all the suggestions I've gotten in the past. Just
so you know, Mom isn't a joiner. I've mentioned going to the community
center on the island; she's not interested. I'm not sure she can even go
to it; she and my dad sold their club membership about 3 years ago and
access may be tied to that. (I *do* know you can't use the driving range,
golf course, tennis courts, pool or even eat at the club unless you're a
member.) I know for a fact she won't drive herself into town to go to the
senior center. (It's a bit of a long drive anyway.)

Jill
When my mother was still living on her own, we got an alarm system for her
(a chain around her neck). I don't remember the name--it was a local
company. She has always been an avid gardener and at first the alarm didn't
work outdoors very well; for an additional fee we were able to extend the
range so she could still be in her garden. The biggest problem we had was
convincing her to wear it; it wasn't her idea to begin with (a BIG problem!)
and we didn't realize til later that she was starting down that dark road of
dementia.

She never actually used it to call emergency services. Having a system that
checks in with the user would be great. I don't remember if hers did; we
(my sisters and I) would call her several times a week to make sure she was
okay and she loved (loves) hearing from us.

Bonnie

jmcquown wrote:
We've all seen the commercials (and heard the jokes). "Help! I've
fallen and I can't get up!" But it's a real concern for seniors living
alone. (Good lord, I sound like a commercial.) Does anyone have any
experience with these types of systems/services? Any recommendations?
Any idea about costs? A quick search shows anything from $12.95/month
to $50/month after equipment purchase. Some services connect directly
to a 911 operator, the others appear to be similar to OnStar service for
your car; they call the appropriate people after talking with you.

Mom has expressed curiousity about a system like this after seeing some
ads on TV. There *are* emergency buttons on the security system panels
but she'd have to be able to get to one of them. (And she didn't even
realize they were there until I pointed it out.)

Mom's next door neighbor will gladly pop in and check on her every few
days. But she works 3-4 days a week and has a social life to boot I
just don't want to have to worry constantly after I leave, even for the
short-term.

An Aside: Thanks for all the suggestions I've gotten in the past. Just
so you know, Mom isn't a joiner. I've mentioned going to the community
center on the island; she's not interested. I'm not sure she can even
go to it; she and my dad sold their club membership about 3 years ago
and access may be tied to that. (I *do* know you can't use the driving
range, golf course, tennis courts, pool or even eat at the club unless
you're a member.) I know for a fact she won't drive herself into town
to go to the senior center. (It's a bit of a long drive anyway.)

Jill

I looked into those (in Canada but I think they're the same in USA)
after my mother broke her hip last year, but she ended up not getting
it. The cheaper ones simply call you if you sound the alert. Big help
if you're on the floor and can't get to the phone.

The more expensive services will call you, then call one of your 3
contacts if you don't respond. They don't come to your rescue, but will
send someone who has to have a key so the ambulance can get in. If you
do get one, get the necklace alert button so she doesn't have to crawl
to the phone. In the end she thought it was too expensive, so I put
phones in every room, near floor level, with speed dial on each one.

Bobble

jmcquown wrote:
We've all seen the commercials (and heard the jokes). "Help! I've
fallen and I can't get up!" But it's a real concern for seniors living
alone. (Good lord, I sound like a commercial.) Does anyone have any
experience with these types of systems/services? Any recommendations?
Any idea about costs? A quick search shows anything from $12.95/month
to $50/month after equipment purchase. Some services connect directly
to a 911 operator, the others appear to be similar to OnStar service for
your car; they call the appropriate people after talking with you.

Mom has expressed curiousity about a system like this after seeing some
ads on TV. There *are* emergency buttons on the security system panels
but she'd have to be able to get to one of them. (And she didn't even
realize they were there until I pointed it out.)

Mom's next door neighbor will gladly pop in and check on her every few
days. But she works 3-4 days a week and has a social life to boot I
just don't want to have to worry constantly after I leave, even for the
short-term.

An Aside: Thanks for all the suggestions I've gotten in the past. Just
so you know, Mom isn't a joiner. I've mentioned going to the community
center on the island; she's not interested. I'm not sure she can even
go to it; she and my dad sold their club membership about 3 years ago
and access may be tied to that. (I *do* know you can't use the driving
range, golf course, tennis courts, pool or even eat at the club unless
you're a member.) I know for a fact she won't drive herself into town
to go to the senior center. (It's a bit of a long drive anyway.)

Jill


Hi Jill,

I recently looked into this for MIL... she ended up not needing it
(she had a medical condition that caused her to be very weak, and now that
they figured that out, she no longer feels she needs it). We had looked
into Lifeline
from a local VNA. It works like many have described already... if the
button
is pushed, the call center will phone her. If she is unable to answer,
they will notify
the people on her list (neighbors, near-by relatives) to check on her...
moving on to
an ambulance if no one can be reached to check her, or if the neighbor
or whoever
needs them... It's a great service for elderly.

Working with the elderly population a lot, I've also heard some other
good ideas. I took care
of one woman who closes her curtains at night. If they aren't open by 9
am, she has a few
neighbors willing to check on her. Meals on Wheels does the same... if
no one answers
the door with meal delivery at 11:30, and they can't get in to deliver
the meals, a designated
person (or people) is notified. But she has to remember to call and
cancel if she isn't going
to be home. There was also some service that the client had to call a
center by a particular
time of day, and if they didn't, they were called by the service,
however that didn't include
any kind of emergency button thing to push. I figured we could do that
for free....
Of course this is how it works in my city... your experiences may vary...

Take care and good luck!

shelly (back into lurking mode)
remove "munged" for e mail

Jill, drat, I know I'm in your KF, but I just wanted to
know if you and your Mom got the cards Mosey and I sent you.
If you want to, you can send me an e-mail.
Sorry for all the probs I've caused you. I really am.
I feel really bad about that and am trying 'really' hard
to correct my mistakes.
My Comcast addy is working just fine now.
*sigh*
Hug
Kyla
----
"So I openend my door to my enemies, asked if we could wipe the slate clean
They tell me just to please go f**k myself
You know you just can't win"
--a lyric from a Pink Floyd song

"jmcquown" wrote in message
. ..
We've all seen the commercials (and heard the jokes). "Help! I've fallen
and I can't get up!" But it's a real concern for seniors living alone.
(Good lord, I sound like a commercial.) Does anyone have any experience
with these types of systems/services? Any recommendations? Any idea
about costs? A quick search shows anything from $12.95/month to $50/month
after equipment purchase. Some services connect directly to a 911
operator, the others appear to be similar to OnStar service for your car;
they call the appropriate people after talking with you.

Mom has expressed curiousity about a system like this after seeing some
ads on TV. There *are* emergency buttons on the security system panels
but she'd have to be able to get to one of them. (And she didn't even
realize they were there until I pointed it out.)

Mom's next door neighbor will gladly pop in and check on her every few
days. But she works 3-4 days a week and has a social life to boot I
just don't want to have to worry constantly after I leave, even for the
short-term.

An Aside: Thanks for all the suggestions I've gotten in the past. Just
so you know, Mom isn't a joiner. I've mentioned going to the community
center on the island; she's not interested. I'm not sure she can even go
to it; she and my dad sold their club membership about 3 years ago and
access may be tied to that. (I *do* know you can't use the driving range,
golf course, tennis courts, pool or even eat at the club unless you're a
member.) I know for a fact she won't drive herself into town to go to the
senior center. (It's a bit of a long drive anyway.)

Jill

I don't have any personal experience with them, but if you can get a good
recommendation, and your mother is actually interested, I'd go for it! My
mother refused to consider one, and we would all have felt much better about
her if she had had one.

Joy