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You don't want to take chances when it comes to you or your loved ones' safety.
That's why it's imperative to get emergency help when it's needed most.
In the event of an emergency, medical alert systems for seniors save lives.
These elderly medical products are an important part of a plan for safe and independent living.
Today elderly medical alarms are easily and conveniently carried as they utilize small medical alert jewelry such as necklaces and bracelets.
Elderly Medical Alarms are especially important if:
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You live alone, or spend time alone
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You have difficulty walking or other mobility issues
Since the early 1980's medical calls to U.S. fire departments have more than doubled. Medical calls now total over 14 million per year and account for over 60% of fire department calls.
This article explores the options for home alarms for elderly safety, from simple telephone dialers to advanced wireless caregiver fall monitor systems.
911 AUTO-DIALER TELEPHONES
Emergency automatic phone dialers are one of the most basic form of calling for medical assistance. The biggest benefit of 911 automatic phone dialers is they use your existing phone line therefore there are no monthly monitoring fees, service charges or contracts. A telephone line splitter will allow you to share a single phone jack for both the base unit and a conventional phone. There are different types of 911 seniors home alert products.
Pre-recorded auto-dialer is an emergency automatic phone dialer that calls 911 with a pre-recorded message giving your name, address and requesting an ambulance
We do not recommend these pre-recorded auto-dialers for a few reasons. First, they may cause more of a problem than help. Many times, they are triggered by a child, a pet, thunderstorm, or power outage/surge. Secondly, a prerecorded message is incomplete and may be assigned a lower priority by a 911 operator. Finally, pre-recorded auto-dialing 911 may not be legal in your city or state or province, it is important to contact the local authorities to verify .
Alarm owners can elect reprogram their devices to automatically dial the number of a third party - a family member or neighbor - who can then call 911.
Unlike pre-recorded emergency dialers, 911 auto-dialers with two-way communication capabilities let you speak directly to a 911 operator with the press of a button. These are typically a small cordless speakerphone that can be worn around your neck, clipped to your belt, or kept it in a pocket. These are most conveniently worn as medical alert necklaces and are the preferred automatic dialer 911 seniors home alert product.
Auto dialer with 2-way speakerphone
Go to Elderly-Medical-Alarms.com or call toll free 1-877-947-7769 for more information on the industry leading 911 auto-dialer telephone with two-way communication capabilities.
MONITORING SERVICES - PERSONAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEMS
There are a number of companies offering a monthly service that provides an emergency device, receives the call and relays the message by live voice to 911 or another designated person. This medical alert system is usually referred to as a PERS (personal emergency response system) and companies providing this style of life alert phones for the elderly typically charge a $25 to $40 monthly service fee. The difference in monthly fees often relates to whether the user purchases the controller device for the home or if it is included.
The advantage of a PERS system is a live person is actually called in the emergency and the chance of a false alarm is minimized. In most cases the emergency operator will call a neighbor with a key or relative living close by. The disadvantage is that in a 911 type of emergency call the first call is to a third party, and you then have to wait for them to call someone else.
Most medical alarm monitoring systems today come with a two-way voice speakerphone. This allows you to communicate with the service provider's monitoring center, in the event of an emergency. The other feature of these monitored systems is a button, which you can wear on your wrist or a necklace.
Medical Alert Bracelet
These systems typically work like this:
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If you need help, you push your help button and your telephone
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controller sends a signal to the monitoring center that help is needed.
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An emergency response operator communicates with you through the two-way voice from the telephone controller and assesses your situation.
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Your emergency contacts are notified.
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If you press your personal help button and cannot answer, emergency response operator sends help immediately- whether it is an ambulance, family member, friend, or neighbor- and they should also stay on the line with you until help arrives.
Some features, which are also typically offered, are:
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Programming for medication reminders.
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Personal help buttons can be worn as pendants or medical alert bracelets and they are water resistant.
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An option for connecting a smoke alarm
PERS systems have been available for almost 30 years, one of the early applications being patients rehabbing at home.
Go to Elderly-Medical-Alarms.com or call toll free 1-877-947-7769 for more information.
ADVANCED MONITORING SYSTEMS
With the advances in technology a next generation of products and services has been introduced that does not rely completely on the user being able to press a pendant button when they need help. Thee systems use a new non-intrusive style of equipment for monitoring senior citizens. Small sensors automatically initiate alerts. These sensors monitor risks, hazards and environmental conditions about the home and can automatically trigger a call to a response center or a caregiver when important exceptions occur.
Small wireless motion sensors are strategically placed in key areas of the home including the bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and meal preparation and/or medication-storage areas. Motion sensors are primarily used as they have the advantage of being non-intrusive when compared to video or audio monitoring.
Sensors can be mixed and matched according to the needs of the individual being supported. Examples include sensors for detecting falls, bed occupancy, night time wandering, floods, extremes of temperature and epileptic seizure as well as, systems for passively monitoring activity, controlling lights at night and providing medication reminders.
As well as monitoring risks and hazards in the home, sensors can be used to monitor patients physiological vital signs at home often reducing stays in hospital or avoiding hospital admissions for patients with a chronic illness.
Typically a base station gathers this information and regularly transmits it over the phone line to a monitoring center. Changes in the senior's activities are analyzed so caregivers or emergency responders can be alerted to problems.
What makes these systems unique is the introduction of behavior-metric software applications designed to "learn" each individual's normal behavioral patterns and note any significant changes? These systems provide emergency alerts without the requirement to use a "panic button". For example, if a senior gets up during the night to use the bathroom and is not back in a reasonable amount of time (this can be set on the system) an alarm is triggered. These wireless caregiver fall monitors provide an extra level of security.
Other information can also be gathered such as activity level, trips to the refrigerator and whether someone has left the home.
The application of these advanced telecare services is further advanced in Europe than in North America today. These have successfully supported a wide range of people to continue to live at home, including those at risk of falling and with early stage dementia. We fully expect to see these systems to continue to advance.
Telecare has a huge potential to support a diverse range of individuals to live at home. It can also give caregivers more personal freedom and help health care agencies deal with strained budgets.
