Anyone have a recommendation for a medical alert button or an emergency phone dialer?
My MIL has been told she should get a medical alert system, as she lives alone. A necklace vs bracelet? With or without fall detector? Calls directly to 911 vs calling family first? Anything that I should know when considering a device?
My Dad uses "Great Call". It's small, attaches to shirt or belt loop, simple to use and it works anywhere! It has a charger, so I leave it on the charger at night or when not in use. So many medical alerts have distance limits, but Great Call goes where you go. Just push the button and someone answers immediately. I am so pleased with it! It's very affordable too. Good luck finding somethings that works for you!
Thank you. My problem is my MIL lives in a very rural area. Cellular reception at her house is very limited. We went with Qmedic. It has a landline option.
If MIL needs medical alert system, I would encourage you to consider a monitored security system like SimpliSafe. You can get a basic system for a couple hundred of dollars that would include a panic button and a couple of smoke detectors with basic monitoring is $15 a month. Later you can add entry (door or windows) monitors. Or a complete system is less than $500.
SimpliSafe a wireless system where only the base needs electrical power and it has a battery backup that runs for 24 hours without power. It uses a cellular connection (included in monthly monitoring fee) to call out. The monitoring devices run on batteries and are installed with double sided tape - so anyone can get these up and running.
The system can be setup to send text or email messages for specific devices. I have the monitor on my mother's bedroom door send me a text message when it is opened so I know my mother is up and moving in the house, You can even add security cameras that can be viewed over the internet; I have a couple in common rooms so I can check on my Mom when I'm away from home.
There are other systems out there in the same price range. Some have a dialer that can be set to dial a list of numbers in a custom order so you can have the system call neighbors and family members and avoid a monthly monitoring fee.
I think when someone needs a panic button (I paste a HELP label on these), they are usually at the point where a monitored system with a smoke detector is a good idea too. The elderly often sleep soundly enough the noise from a smoke detector won't wake them.
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SimpliSafe a wireless system where only the base needs electrical power and it has a battery backup that runs for 24 hours without power. It uses a cellular connection (included in monthly monitoring fee) to call out. The monitoring devices run on batteries and are installed with double sided tape - so anyone can get these up and running.
The system can be setup to send text or email messages for specific devices. I have the monitor on my mother's bedroom door send me a text message when it is opened so I know my mother is up and moving in the house, You can even add security cameras that can be viewed over the internet; I have a couple in common rooms so I can check on my Mom when I'm away from home.
There are other systems out there in the same price range. Some have a dialer that can be set to dial a list of numbers in a custom order so you can have the system call neighbors and family members and avoid a monthly monitoring fee.
I think when someone needs a panic button (I paste a HELP label on these), they are usually at the point where a monitored system with a smoke detector is a good idea too. The elderly often sleep soundly enough the noise from a smoke detector won't wake them.
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