With Senior Medical Alert Systems Help is Just a Click Away

Sunday my husband and I spent a wonderful afternoon with our Aunt.  She is 87 years old, or should I say 87 years young?  She feels blessed that she has had an extraordinary life but she lives alone now, husband has passed away, and she has several relatively serious health issues.  She shared with us that she recently fell and of course we became more concerned than ever.  Statistics show that two thirds of older adults who have fallen will fall again within 12 months of the original fall. Our uncle, recently widowed after 60 years of marriage, is 83 years old and finds himself living on his own.  Full of life and determined to live each and every day with gusto, he finds himself less steady on his feet than he was. My 91 year old father-in-law works out and bench presses 165 pounds three days a week.  His doctor actually refers to him as the new 70. But he was recently rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night.  He is home now and my mother-in-law is afraid to leave him alone for any reason. What would happen if she were not with him and he had another emergency?   

As a senior safety advocate, I felt it important that my husband and I speak with each of them about purchasing a medical alert system. They all responded in a similar manner, “Maybe, I’ll think about it.” Usually after a surgery, medical procedure or diagnosis, it is recommended that the patient purchase an emergency alert system in case of sudden illness or a fall. Yet, most of the purchases are made by the relatives or friends of elderly people who live alone and in fact need service. For many families, especially those far away, they rely on senior medical alert system to give aging relatives better safety. Some elderly people see the system as a life-saver and others may refuse to use it at all. Studies have shown that a good percentage of seniors who own a personal medical alert system are reluctant to use it, so as family members, we may need to help our loved ones feel more empowered and in control of their own lives by actually using the system.  

Here’s how a medical alert system works and why I recommend it to all the families I work with. Very simply, a medical alert device comes with a console, which acts as a receiver, and a help button that transmits a distress call. The panic button may be in the form of a waterproof neck pendant, or wristband that acts like a call button would in a hospital setting. Instead of a nurse speeding to your room you are connected to a call monitoring center. A trained specialist will attempt to speak with the person who pressed the call button. Based on what the specialist learns from the call, he or she will get you the assistance you need immediately. Important factors I consider when recommending a medical alarm are reliability of the actual system, the quality of the monitoring call center, the professionalism of the system representative from the installation to the activation, handling of any potential service issues, and lifetime product warranty.  Remember, in an emergency, medical help is just a button click away because it is always best to be safe, not sorry. 

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