Best medical alert device for elder care

[Anonymous]

I would like to buy my aging parents a medical alert device to notify if they fall or have any other issue. I believe there are a variety of such devices on the market. Can anyone recommend one?

[Anonymous]

I don't recommend it. It's a short term solution to a long term problem. I would spend your time finding the right living situation for them which if falls could be an issue may be AL.

Issues:
*The service we used did a test run where everyone was contacted, but didn't say right away it was a test run. I had heart palpitations for no reason and a neighbor was quite annoyed with them.

*Falls often occurred when parent was partially dressed-leaving shower/toilet despite all the adjustments made to bathroom to make it safe. Parents don't want to be seen that way.

*Falls also happened out of the bed in the middle of the night. Yes, you'd do anything for parent...until your 10th call in the middle of the night.

*It's not like you just get the parent back up. You need to call the fire department and have someone check and make sure the injury wasn't more severe than you thought. They also need to assist parent safely. You could add to injury by helping parent up the wrong way. The neighbors will just move having firetrucks at 3am....again....

*It becomes unsustainable. It alienated neighbors and burns you out.

[Anonymous]

OP, I use one called Medical Guardian for my husband who is disabled. It is one of the more expensive ones on the market. I think it is about $540 for the year.

And.. so far we have never had to use it for real. But I think the best time to rely on an alert system like this is precisely when you almost never are using it.

As PP says, if you start having to use it more than once or twice, that means it is time for a different living situation. It really is providing peace of mind for someone who would be helping the person if they were home with them, but can't always be around.

Anyhow - what I live about Medical Guardian is that when we test the alert system (I test monthly) they always answer immediately. Once we tested the alert button but then for some reason I wasn't able to make it in time to tell them it was just a test. When they heard no response, they immediately did the nest thing and called my cell phone. I was able to tell them via cell phone that it was just a test. If they didn't reach my cell phone, the next step was to call 911. I feel a lot more comfortable with my husband's ability to get help by having them call 911 than by him trying to do it himself.

[Anonymous]

I just got Medical Guardian for my aunt. I recommend calling them and letting them walk you through the selection rather than picking and choosing options on line. The rep I talked to was very helpful.