Senior Medical Alert systems

[AJSimon]

Anyone have any experience with any of these systems, like Lifeline - where you have a medical emergency, can't get to a phone, so you press a button, and this whole mechanism takes over for calling an ambulance and getting you care?

Mother is 75, had an emergency last night - pneumonia causing shortness of breath and panic attack. Her husband has advancing Alzheimers and wasn't able to make sense of dialing 911. Long story short, she was finally able to summon EMTs who got her to the hospital. She's probably going to be okay, but now we're thinking about the next time this happens, and how we can streamline the process of getting her help quickly.

[kork13]

Not direct experience, but my father & aunts recently went in together to get Lifeline for my grandmother. She's 95 & still kicking, though doing so is a trick -- she's had one leg amputated below the knee, so her mobility is troublesome at best, and with limited exception, requires frequent assistance. One aunt lives with her most of the time, the other lives in the next town over. But when either of them are not with her, the Lifeline thing has proven itself valuable multiple times. More than a few "I've fallen & can't get up" situations, including some in "compromising" situations (the bathroom can be problematic), another where her mechanical leg went bonkers on her. She's also had a couple of false alarms, but they respond anyway to ensure she's okay (though it tends to be overkill). I can't speak to the cost, or if there is a charge per response... But all I've heard from my father & aunts are that they've been extremely grateful for having the service there as a backup to themselves & neighbors. FWIW, I'd give it 2 thumbs up & a strong endorsement.

[disneysteve]

We got my mom one last year. I think the company is Lifeline but I’d have to double check. It’s about $30/month.

[bjl584]

We installed cameras at my GF's mom's house last year.
I can't remember the provider but it's around $10 a month to have the data stored to the cloud.

[ua_guy]

My father (75) is getting an Apple watch. I'm impressed - one, that he wants one and is able to generally use and understand it. Two - Apple watches have EKG functionality and will summon help in the event of a cardiac event, fall, unconsciousness, and other features where it will summon help or reach out to designated contacts if the user is incapacitated. To reduce false alarms, it will ask for user acknowledgement. If no acknowledgement, it will quickly take over and start the SOS process. The cellular feature is great - my dad is often out on his property where wifi or phone line can't reach.

I don't know if Lifeline has progressed in similar manner -- we did have one for my grandmother about 15 years ago and it worked very well, but it was also very basic. An Apple watch isn't for everyone, and I can see elder seniors not being able to see the face well, or grasp the depth of its features. Just something to consider for the willing.

[Petunia 100]

What about the Echo Dot? Does it have the capability to call 911 for you if you say aloud "Alexa, call 911"? Since it is voice activated, that seems like it would be quite useful.

[kork13]

What about the Echo Dot? Does it have the capability to call 911 for you if you say aloud "Alexa, call 911"? Since it is voice activated, that seems like it would be quite useful.

Probably a decent idea as well, though similar to ua_guy's point about many seniors still not being familiar/comfortable with modern tech, having a device that's always listening could be disliked, or at least not understood. Not to mention that many elderly homes may not even have WiFi to connect an Echo Dot -- I know that neither of my grandparents have WiFi, nor even my wife's parents.

[disneysteve]

We installed cameras at my GF's mom's house last year.

Is someone monitoring that feed 24/7? If not, I'm wondering what purpose it serves. If she were to fall or have some other emergency, just being on camera wouldn't summon help. It's a nice add on to some sort of emergency call system but I don't think it replaces it.

[disneysteve]

many elderly homes may not even have WiFi to connect an Echo Dot -- I know that neither of my grandparents have WiFi, nor even my wife's parents.

My mom is 92 and has WiFi. She uses a laptop computer daily for email, banking, Facebook, etc. That said, I still wouldn't want her to have a speaker like that. Far too many ways she could screw something up by saying the wrong thing. It's hard enough getting her to not do things wrong on her computer. She keeps asking for a smart phone and there's no way we're opening up that can of worms.

[bjl584]

Is someone monitoring that feed 24/7? If not, I'm wondering what purpose it serves. If she were to fall or have some other emergency, just being on camera wouldn't summon help. It's a nice add on to some sort of emergency call system but I don't think it replaces it.

It is more for the family.
She was claiming that people were breaking into the house and stealing things.
More often than not she just loses things, but when she claims something goes missing, the family can go back and review the footage to see if anyone did in fact come into the house.

Some of the neighbors are questionable, but so far no one has entered her house.

[disneysteve]

It is more for the family.
She was claiming that people were breaking into the house and stealing things.
More often than not she just loses things, but when she claims something goes missing, the family can go back and review the footage to see if anyone did in fact come into the house.

Some of the neighbors are questionable, but so far no one has entered her house.

That totally makes sense. There have been a number of times we wished we had cameras at my mom's place. She has misplaced things and gotten so worked up when she couldn't find them. She spent a whole day driving herself crazy over what was really something minor, but I'm sure it was frustrating and scary to her feeling like she's losing her ability to function.

[scfr]

AJSimon - I'm sorry to hear about your mom's medical emergency. That sounds like it must have been pretty scary for her.

I researched medical alert systems for my mom a few years ago (pre-pandemic) and at the time we decided not to get one, primarily because my mom is very UN-tech-savvy with what I would describe as poor executive function. She doesn't have a smart phone, often lets her regular cell phone's battery die, etc, etc. So she couldn't be counted on to keep a device chaged or on her person when she went away from home. Because she lives with my brother who so far has been able to call 9-1-1 for her when she needs assistance, we decided that the cost of an at-home-only device wouldn't be worth it for her.

But now she has a fancy set-up that includes a fall detector and a speaker/monitor that she needs to respond to within a certain amount of time in case of a false alarm. This is provided for her free from her local government agency for seniors / aging that offers assistance to help seniors stay in their own homes. Her social worker decided that the time has come that she needs it, and I was relieved to not have to help her make the choice/decision.

This is my advice:

Read reviews from AARP and Consumer Reports. I read the reviews when I was researching for my mom. (I access CR online free through my library). There are so many different features and what might be best really depends on where and how you think it will be used, how tech-savvy your mom is, and how much you want to pay.

If you haven't already, get connected to the department on aging, project indendence, or whatever it is called where your mom lives. Even if they don't provide a free monitor for your mom, they may offer some other services that could be helpful now or in the future.

Good luck.

[Bozzdivine]

Like some of the others here, I have had indirect experience with Lifeline and other similar systems. They certainly offer peace of mind for both the user and their loved ones.

Whether or not it's the right choice for your mom will depend on several factors, such as her comfort level with technology, her lifestyle, and her specific medical needs. If she's home alone often, a home-based system could work well. If she's active and out often, a mobile option might be better.

Also, consider looking into local resources for seniors. Some areas offer programs to help seniors acquire medical alert systems or similar services.
Finally, doing some research can be really helpful. Websites like AARP and Consumer Reports offer reviews and comparisons of different systems, which could help you make a more informed decision.