Thanks enipla,
I did a search on the Straight Dope and this was the most recent one in the results.
Do you have a link to the thread you started?
Sorry, I should have provided it. Here ya go
Thanks again enipla,
If my brother and sister make it to this thread (I sent them a link) I hope they follow your link to the thread you started as it has some good feedback/info.
I’m still very happy with LifeStation, as I posted above on 9/27/2012. They have excellent customer service and call me a few times per year to make sure I’m pleased with the system and service. The system is used by my 94-year-old grandma and she has triggered occasional false alarms and it has never been a problem. Once when the phone line was down for two days, they noticed and sent a deputy out to make sure she was ok!
I handle my grandma’s finances and I check for ways to reduce her expenses on a regular basis. In researching other medical alarms, I have learned that Bay Alarm Medical is very highly rated and generally considered to be the best in the business. Their prices are very competitive and they also offer a discount (unspecified) for AARP and AAA members. An AARP membership only costs $16/year and would probably pay for itself with the discount.
A few general things to consider regardless of which provider your are considering-
1- Avoid any company requiring a contract and/or that requires a deposit or purchase of the equipment.
2- Make sure you get free shipping, even if they don’t advertise it.
3- Be careful when choosing extras/options because they quickly increase the monthly cost. But some of those extras may be well worth the few dollars per month depending on the user’s specific situation. I pay an extra $5/month for two wall buttons that are mounted beside the toilet and above the baseboard in the bedroom where a fall is most likely to occur. My grandma can just hit one of these large buttons with her palm or even her foot if she can’t reach and press her regular alarm.
Some companies also offer options such as a door key lockbox for emergency personnel to gain entry into the home in an emergency. Another one that I like is a daily call service to check on someone who lives alone. If they don’t make contact with the user by phone, they start calling their emergency contact list until they reach a person and advise them that they couldn’t reach the user.
Don’t be afraid to ask for deals or freebies either! It’s a competitive business and I have no problem asking one company to at least match the offer of another.