My mom (79 y/a) is about to have the LifeAlert guy come over tomorrow morning, but would switch to another company if it proved to be better. A visit to the Better Business Bureau revealed 134 complaints about LifeAlert over the past 3 years; a search here located this thread, but the topic was focused on the EMTs breaking the door down, and not the merits of the system(s) in question.
So, any and all testimonials, postive and negative and otherwise, are hereby welcome.
We got an alert system for my mother, but I can’t remember if it’s Lifeline or Life Alert. It’s the one that automatically senses a fall and calls for you even if you can’t push the button. I recommend it. because it automatically calls if she falls without her having to press the button. She’s had 2 falls since she got it; the 1st time she fell it did not automatically call, but that could be because she wore it inside her shirt. The 2nd time she fell, it did call automatically. If someone falls and is unconscious, no one would have any way of knowing without this feature.
I have Alert1®.
I love it. I test it once a month. They gave me a lockbox that is outside my front door. When they call EMT’s they give them the combination. I wear a necklace 24/7 with the button. Waterproof and handy. Good price as well.
I’m also interested in peoples’ experiences with these. We need to get one for my mother, and I’ve tried researching but find only ads and more ads.
Is there some quantitative or qualitative information out there?
For some reason, Consumer Reports has not done any studies on medical alert systems, which I find puzzling. (I suppose it’s possibly because they, like so many others, are primarily focused on pursuing a younger demographic. )
My limited experience from the response side from working in a 9-1-1 center…
As with any alarm system, it is only as good as the information it can provide to emergency responders.
[ol]
[li]LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.[/li]Be certain your alarm company has a proper and correct address, directions, and a description of the property.
Check to be certain it is easy to locate the house number from the street in both daylight and at night. It is amazing how much time emergency responders waste trying to find a location where assistance is needed.
[li]MEDICAL INFORMATION[/li]Your alarm company can have information on file about the medical needs of your loved one or many 9-1-1 centers can do this as well. Use the administrative non-emergency line to contact the relevant 9-1-1 center to ask how they would prefer to handle this.
[/ol]
Don’t know why I haven’t seen this here. Great idea. I’m stealing it. Our EMTs have a distinct lack of door-breaking equipment and this would make it so much easier.
The best one is the one they’ll actually use.
Both from what I’m seeing with The Grandma From Hell and from what I hear regarding other people, too many of them simply will not use the alarm. TGFH recently fell down, knocked herself out, was bleeding from a cut in her scalp, but didn’t use the alarm or tell anybody until my cousin called about something else - at which point it was “oooh I’m feeling dizzy you should come ooooh… since I fell down, yes… oh oh yes, I fell down this morning and now the pillow is all sticky… because of the blood… yes, I’ve been bleeding since I fell down…”
She’s got a bracelet, a necklace and a gizmo that doubles as a base for her phone - but she just won’t use them, any more than she’ll call any of her relatives for help. It must always be other people who call her.
Even if they did, it would be behind a paywall.
Looks like she’s going with LifeAlert then, since I don’t have anything yet to show me that another service would be significantly better.
[quote=“John_DiFool, post:7, topic:634919”]
Even if they did, it would be behind a paywall.
/QUOTE]
If “behind a paywall” you mean printing the results in their magazine, then I think that’s fine.
I already subscribe to the Consumer Reports magazine (they charge an additional $29.95 or so a year for access to their website).
They run their tests on such a wide variety of products and services, and I think alerts systems would be a good test subject, given the wide range of offerings in that market.
Won’t work if she won’t wear it, however.
And it can tell the difference between a fall and laying down?
Yes. If it registers a false positive, all you have to do is call out that you’re fine to the intercom voice who checks in immediately. My mom has had hers for a year with no problem. She does lie down quite gingerly, though. If you flop into bed, it’s possible it could sense it as a fall, but then you just call out to the intercom voice that you’re okay. We’ve tested it many times.
We also put a little hanging lockbox like the realtors use on her front door with her house key in it, and the life alert company knows the combination, so if they call the medics, the medics can just get the key out and not break in the door.
Cool. I have to press my button. And if I fall and knock myself out, how do I do that?
What is the name of this company?
I linked to it above - it’s Lifeline http://www.lifelinesys.com/content/lifeline-products/auto-alert
We were told by the hospital social worker that if there was a medical referral for the alert system, the installation fee would be waived, so we had that done and it was.
[URL=“http://www.lifelinesys.com/content/lifeline-products/auto-alert”]
Thank you!
Still doesn’t work if not worn. Her bracelet and medal usually rest on the bedside table.
I’m in the same situation. I’m just beginning to investigate and also checked CR (and I have a paid subscription), but nothing.
Any info would be so helpful.
Take a look at LifeStation- LINK
About four years ago, I decided to get one of these for both of my grandmothers. One was 82 and the other was 88 years old and they each lived alone, so it was way overdue!
My first stop was Consumer Reports, but no luck. Internet searches for reviews didn’t find much either. Finally, I got some feedback from several people on a site for caregivers called Caring.com. Two of them highly recommended Life Station, so I gave them a shot.
After four years, I don’t have a single complaint with the system or their service! We’ve had at least three medical emergencies, including two falls, and they exceeded my expectations each time.
They will also call any time the system is offline for more than 30 minutes. If it gets unplugged, the power goes out, or even when Nana fails to hang up the phone and ties up the line- they will attempt to call the home number, then proceed to my cell if they don 't get an answer! Then, of course, I take off like a bat out of hell to check on them…
The monthly fee for the standard unit with one call button is $29.95/month. I also found a $3/month coupon code online- enter LISP3 on the order form and it drops it to $26.95/month.
There is no down payment or setup fee of any kind. They also don’t require a long-term contract, just 30-days notice to cancel the service.
Hope this helps!
Consumer Reports (Link) now has some info on these systems. You don’t need to be a subscriber to view the page.
It seems like a good starting point (along with this thread) to help determine what system to choose.
I’m wondering - if any of the above posters have any new insight on these systems?
I started a thread about this a few months ago, and bumped it a while back. We checked out ‘Consumers Advocate’ website reviews. Bay Medical was rated #1 and was pretty much what we where looking for.
Sorry, no opinion of it yet, It’s an x-max gift for Mom.