topic Re: emergency call systems in Wellness

emergency call systems

lyndapace — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 10:55:18 GMT

does anyone of have any advice regarding the emergency call systems that get help to you in case of a fall? I have checked several and you get some good and bad reviews. I am 70 and recently fell in my front yard. thankfully, a neighbor's nephew who was visiting, heard me call for help. I was ok, but may need to invest in one. thanks. lynda

Re: emergency call systems

betteb — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 13:06:20 GMT

My advise would be to call your county Dept of Aging and ask them who they recommend.

You can find it on Google. Put in the name of your county and state followed by Dept of Aging.

Another source for info may be your doctor's office.

Re: emergency call systems

Big Sister — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 13:12:47 GMT

Around my house and in my yards, I now carry my phone in my pocket, just in case.

Re: emergency call systems

Kachina624 — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 23:03:12 GMT

Usually government agencies will not recommend commercial businesses.

Re: emergency call systems

hckynut — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 23:20:28 GMT

If you have a cell phone and a good connection when inside or outside your house, carry it with you "turned on" at all times. I had my 2nd heart attack while down at the bottom of our front yard(which is about a 40% incline up to our house. I was able to walk back up by using some mathematical equation which would be the easiest way to get up the hill. I took the long way but it was not as steep.

I was not dying at that moment and I could walk, but I knew I was having a heart attack and I did not have my cell phone on me at the time. I now take it anytime I go outside when home alone and plan on doing anything outside that is time consuming.

If you are concerned about falling when indoors, carry it with you all the time when alone. Have the person closest to you, physically by distance and/or a person that you can almost always reach. First call should be 911 of course and move on from there.

My Tracfone costs me less than $6 per month so it is not an expensive item to have in case of an emergency.

Re: emergency call systems

meem120 — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 23:31:51 GMT

If you had one of the services, and wear the call button all the time, I'm assuming you would need a land telephone line??? So many have given up their landlines in favor of cell phones, do the services work if you only have a cell phone?

Re: emergency call systems

Peaches McPhee — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 23:42:59 GMT

On 3/7/2014 mcall1020 said:
If you had one of the services, and wear the call button all the time, I'm assuming you would need a land telephone line??? So many have given up their landlines in favor of cell phones, do the services work if you only have a cell phone?

Some will, but you have to ask for that type. Sometimes the cell phone type costs more.

Re: emergency call systems

betteb — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 06:18:20 GMT

On 3/7/2014 kachina624 said: Usually government agencies will not recommend commercial businesses.

In this instance they do. The Dept of Aging will even help her set it up. Part of what they do is try to help people stay in their homes.

Re: emergency call systems

lavendar — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 06:49:12 GMT

I have an appointment for one next week. I am very fortunate because my local hospital provides one at a minimal cost for seniors. Seniors means sixty. However, it can't be used outside. I carry a small inexpensive cell phone in my pocket. I don't know if this is true but I was told if you call 911 on a landline it goes locally immediately but a cell does not.

Re: emergency call systems

151949 — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 14:51:55 GMT

On 3/7/2014 bigsister said:
Around my house and in my yards, I now carry my phone in my pocket, just in case.

Many people think this is enough but if you fall and break your hip you may not be able to get into the pocket to get the phone and you may break the phone when you fall onto it.or if you have a stroke and are unable to dial a phone .... the push button device is much safer.

Re: emergency call systems

Lacey1 — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 16:07:37 GMT

Some of the systems that I've seen: There is a console with a big button on it. If the customer does not press the button every day by a certain time-the system will call, if no answer-they will activate the emergency procedure. Some come with a necklace and/or wristband button. They might be kind of pricey, but I, personally know of several occasions that they have saved lives. They also can be integrated with security systems. If someone breaks in while the customer is sleeping, or a fire/ carbon monoxide emergency is detected-the proper people will be notified. One of my elderly neighbors fell down the cellar steps and laid there for 24 hours-if she would've had one, she would've gotten help sooner.

Re: emergency call systems

millieshops — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 16:26:22 GMT

Something I "learned" when my sister had a call system: It doesn't work if you don't use it!

My sister's children lived hours away from her, so her call system was set up to notify neighbors, #1 a friend in her 80's. Once at 2 in the morning, sister fell in her bathroom and struggled for over 45 minutes to get up. Why no help? - although she was wearing her emergency button, she didn't want to wake her friend.

Please, please- when you set up whatever system is best for you, be sure you're comfortable with the whole set-up. I also experienced a doctor telling my aunt she wasn't a candidate for a call system: "You won't use it when you should, and you'll be using it when it's not necessary." He was right- within a few months her dementia was so severe, I was searching nursing homes for her.

Local offices for the aging, hospital social workers, church outreach officers, even your reference librarian are all helpful when a call system is right for you. They are for so many of us who live alone.

Re: emergency call systems

Lavenderjunkie — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 16:46:50 GMT

We investigated these for my Mom about a year ago. They are not all the same in terms of their range inside/outside, some are land line based, some are cell phone based. Also we learned that if you press the button, and the call center person connects and talks to you..... you can only hear and converse with them if you are in the same room as the base unit (unless it's a cell based system, and then you must have the phone with you). The pendants do not have speaker on them. They only transmit a signal to the base unit to place the emergency call. If the call center can't talk with you they will call 911. If you don't answer the door, emergency services will break it down.

Also, the agreement you are asked to sign is very one sided. It might only be 2 pages, and they might say it is not a contract because the service is month to month. But the agreement you sign makes you ( and your heirs) liable for a lot of things, including mistakes made by the company. Most people don't bother reading, they just sign. Not a good idea.

We ended up buying a stand alone device for my Mom. It's not connected to any service. If she presses the alert button the system calls a series of phone #'s we have programmed, with the message she has recorded. It's not perfect (she can't talk the responder if she is not in the same room as the base unit), but there is no agreement to sign and no monthly fees.

Good luck. Do your research. Ask lots of questions. Also recognize that once you contact these companies you get on their list and they keep bugging you. They also sell you name and phone #/email. Also there are some scams, where a company robo calls to say your device is ready for shipment... implying you have ordered something. Just hang up on them asap.

Re: emergency call systems

Diamonds22 — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 17:02:24 GMT

I highly recommend ""5 Star"" that is on the www.GreatCall.com website. It is advertised by John Walsh of America's Most Wanted. It is like a GPS & is only $14.99 a month & no contract. I had got one for my husband & it worked great. You can take it with you where ever you go. I could take my husband with me for example to the grocery store & he would sit in the car while I ran in for a few things & if he needed help he would push the button & they would know exactly his location. Luckily he never needed it but it was peace of mind for both of us. He wore it around the neck & just knowing if I wasn't around he could push the button & bingo he was connected.

Diamonds22

Re: emergency call systems

lyndapace — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 17:16:31 GMT

On 3/8/2014 lavenderjunkie said:
We investigated these for my Mom about a year ago. They are not all the same in terms of their range inside/outside, some are land line based, some are cell phone based. Also we learned that if you press the button, and the call center person connects and talks to you..... you can only hear and converse with them if you are in the same room as the base unit (unless it's a cell based system, and then you must have the phone with you). The pendants do not have speaker on them. They only transmit a signal to the base unit to place the emergency call. If the call center can't talk with you they will call 911. If you don't answer the door, emergency services will break it down.

Also, the agreement you are asked to sign is very one sided. It might only be 2 pages, and they might say it is not a contract because the service is month to month. But the agreement you sign makes you ( and your heirs) liable for a lot of things, including mistakes made by the company. Most people don't bother reading, they just sign. Not a good idea.

We ended up buying a stand alone device for my Mom. It's not connected to any service. If she presses the alert button the system calls a series of phone #'s we have programmed, with the message she has recorded. It's not perfect (she can't talk the responder if she is not in the same room as the base unit), but there is no agreement to sign and no monthly fees.

Good luck. Do your research. Ask lots of questions. Also recognize that once you contact these companies you get on their list and they keep bugging you. They also sell you name and phone #/email. Also there are some scams, where a company robo calls to say your device is ready for shipment... implying you have ordered something. Just hang up on them asap.

thanks to everybody for all the suggestions. I worked for the state of florida for 20 years, but when I called the council on aging I Pensacola, you never get a return call. I am going to check with my former administrator (opa) in my town and see if she can give me some guidance. also, I have been checking all the various companies online. talk about confusing. and now with my prescription plan changing my co-pays higher on my prescriptions, it is getting out of hand. I don't have a landline anymore to save money, just an inexpensive straight talk from Wal-Mart. I heard on the news the other day that if you use a cell phone for an emergency. they may not be able to find you, that only the general area.comes across. it's all very confusing. thanks again. i'll start checking more next week. lynda

Re: emergency call systems

itsmetoo — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 03:12:03 GMT

I have also heard that if you call 9-1-1 from a cell phone that it does not go directly to your local fire/police dept. like it would with a land line. That could waste valuable time in a life or death situation if it's true.

Edited to add:

I just found this information: <<When you call 911 from a cell phone, the call often lands in a regional center. A call-taker in a far-away city or county may answer your call. When you make a 911 call on a cell phone, you are sending signals through the air. The tower that picks up your phone's signal may be near, but it isn't enough to tell the dispatcher where to find you. It's like playing "Marco Polo" in the pool - blindfolded with just sound to guide you. Calling 911 from a landline (a telephone connected to the lines on the poles) makes a computer in the dispatch center show the number and address of the phone you're using. >> HTH