There are so many different monitoring devices and services out there and the new technology is overwhelming me. I'm hoping to find some good direction on the best ones - tried and true. Hopefully, someone has experience with these - what worked, what didn't, and recommendations. Also, maybe which combinations of them might work best. I'm looking for Indoor surveillance cameras? Medical alert system? Door motion sensor? Medication dispenser? Any other recommendations that help to keep a loved one safer at home by themselves?
Instead of a monthly subscription service, which costs about $550 per year (and leaves yet one more item for an Executor to resolve), I feel a one-time purchase of an "alert" pendant is a much better value, and has the intrinsically better value of immediate connection to your designated caregiver or 911, whichever you decide to program as your first call....and the devices can call a list of phone numbers that you can enter into it, before it calls 911. This means instead of talking to someone at a Call Center (that they've never met) they will talk with their daughter, or neighbor, or regular caregiver....and if those people can't be reached it goes right to local 911 call center. This represents a true cost savings, and more personalized service--who would you rather speak with in an emergency, someone you know, or maybe the fire station you've walked by for 30 years, or some Call Center 800 miles away?
The choices are out there. You can get a monthly contract and never be done paying (and still pay after you die, possibly), or you can get a once-and-done equipment purchase (roughly $225 ) and never have to pay a dime more, unless you decide to.
My parents spent a few grand on the monthly service and now have their own equipment, they only wish they had done it sooner. The choice is yours and your money is your own. No, I do not work for any of the "alert" companies. I am just a caregiver who needs to be careful for my parents, I hate to see them spending more money than they need to. Monthly service fees is just one are where seniors get a bad deal, in my opinion. Buy your own alert system and save a few tbousand dollars! NOTE: the fall alert technology, which my folks used to have, is not precise, they had multiple false-positives, and also several Real Falls that were not detected....your experience may differ of course....but my folks decided to forgoe the costly bother of false positives plus concerns of un-detected Real Falls.
I plan to buy a phone from consumer cellular for $60 which has a panic button and GPS location. I rarely use my phone and the plan is only $20 a month. i have no wish for anything more complicated. I can still read a map!
You really need to assess what you want to achieve and the capabilities of those who will depend on them. I know some famous and rich people have a safe room in their house where they go if there is an alarm.
We use a Summer Baby Touch 02000Z digital color video monitor within our house. I've no complaints with it at all, but I cannot use the receiver outdoors. It will work with up to 4 cameras.