Life Alert for Elderly Parent?

[PRmerger]

Anyone have any experience with the Life Alert brand of medical alert system?

lifealert.com/

Are there competitors?

Thoughts? Experiences? Pro? Anti?

 

[Kelfa28]

I’m pro Life Alert.

I used to work as an Paramedic and one of the regular calls we’d get were health and welfare checks. If a life alert…or equivalent…button went off, we’d be called to go check on the occupant.
Nine times out of ten the patient would have suffered a very minor fall and had difficulty getting up from it…sometimes they would have gotten up themselves by the time we got there. We’d help them up and check them over and ask if they want to go to the hospital. Usually they would say no.

I think it helps elderly still live independently. Of course…these systems should never replace frequent, if not daily, visits from friends and family. Plus, our parish runs a telephone call system of parishioners who give a daily call to elderly parishioners to check up on them. But I believe a Life Alert is beneficial for instant need of assistance. They just need to remember to actually wear it.

 

[Prodigal_Son1]

I’m pro Life Alert.

I used to work as an Paramedic and one of the regular calls we’d get were health and welfare checks. If a life alert…or equivalent…button went off, we’d be called to go check on the occupant.
Nine times out of ten the patient would have suffered a very minor fall and had difficulty getting up from it…sometimes they would have gotten up themselves by the time we got there. We’d help them up and check them over and ask if they want to go to the hospital. Usually they would say no.

I think it helps elderly still live independently. Of course…these systems should never replace frequent, if not daily, visits from friends and family. Plus, our parish runs a telephone call system of parishioners who give a daily call to elderly parishioners to check up on them. But I believe a Life Alert is beneficial for instant need of assistance. They just need to remember to actually wear it.

I still work as a Paramedic, and agree with everything you said.

 

[mountee]

My Dad took a bad fall and ended up being hospitalized for 6 weeks and 2 more months in rehab. He was living in a community that checked on him every day so he was on the floor for several hours until the morning. Now he wears one in his new home. One thing though, they do not work with Internet phone service,

 

[twopekinguys]

Anyone have any experience with the Life Alert brand of medical alert system?

lifealert.com/

Are there competitors?

Thoughts? Experiences? Pro? Anti?

Life Alert got into some trouble a few years ago with aggressive and misleading sales tactics. Their services also require a contract. 2 years I believe, but that could have changed

Most local hospitals offer their own variation of the same service, cheaper, and without a contract. That is what I used for my mother.

 

[PRmerger]

Thanks to all who responded.

Good thoughts, all!

 

[Honour]

I have no experience with that brand, but I think something like it can make a huge difference. When I was in elementary school a neighbor fell in her kitchen, even though she had been managing quite well living independently her family came to check on her every few days. She broke her hip and couldn’t reach the phone. She was there overnight before another elderly neighbor got worried when she didn’t come to the door, the neighbor came to our house and I ended up crawling through a window to unlock the front door, once inside the neighbor and my Mom called 911, she eventually recovered for the most part, but it could have been way worse. I often think about that, the whole thing made a huge impact on me, it used to worry me pretty bad that my grandparents were still on their own, but now my grandmother is in a care facility and my grandfather lives with my parents. I don’t know the price or if there are better alternatives, but some similar device would certainly be worth it just for the peace of mind.