[Schaumburger]

I'm starting to research the "Life Alert" type of service for my dad who has been a widower for several years. Although he is in good health, at 82 one never knows when medical assistance could be needed. The last time he had a serious medical problem 7 years ago, he drove himself to the emergency room while he was in serious pain -- but don't get me started about that!

Would like feedback on these systems -- brand recommendations, which ones to stay away from, etc.

Now convincing my father to wear one of these pendants/bracelets may be another story...

[asianthree]

check with the police station or fire dept they can give you a handle of what service works best there. We are in a remote area and the fire dept helped us out on what to get

[Sable99]

I don't know the answer to your question but I thought I would share something that I concocted when my Dad was sick.

We wanted Dad to be able to let us know if he needed help but we also wanted to go about our chores in the house. I looked everywhere for some type of calling device to use inside our home. I couldn't find anything but I came up with this.

I bought a wireless, desktop doorbell system. I think it was less than $30. I took the push button part of the doorbell system and glued it to an ID lariat -- the kind that has a clip on it and you can pull it out. In other words, instead of installing it on the outside of our house, we clipped it to his shirt pocket and he could pull out the string and push the button when he needed us. We laid the sound part of the doorbell system at the edge of the open staircase to our lower level. Our condo is over 3,000 square feet and you could hear the bell throughout the entire house, the deck and the lower patio. [Please excuse me as I don't know what those parts are called!]

This little concoction worked great for us. Dad has passed away but Mom has it on her night stand in case she needs help at night. I always thought this would be a great invention for someone.

[pooh]

I had Life Alert for my parents years ago. Mom was comfortable with it, Dad was not. He refused to wear the bracelet or neck pendant alarm, saying he didn't need it. I got the service after Mom fell and Dad couldn't get her up. He eventually called my sister who then had him call 911. (I was living 3200 miles away at the time. My sister was exhausted running to them often, thought Life Alert would give them some peace of mind and my sister, a little relief.

With Life Alert, one was signing a very long term contract.....one could not just stop the service. It could be terminated only if the individuals the service was for were in a nursing home, living with a care provider, or died. Find out terms BEFORE signing a contract with any alert company.

[CaptJohn]

Originally Posted by pooh

With Life Alert, one was signing a very long term contract.....one could not just stop the service. It could be terminated only if the individuals the service was for were in a nursing home, living with a care provider, or died. Find out terms BEFORE signing a contract with any alert company.

Very good advice!
Ya just gotta love the knowledge and experience of the members on this websie.

[CaptJohn]

Originally Posted by Sable99

I bought a wireless, desktop doorbell system. I think it was less than $30. I took the push button part of the doorbell system and glued it to an ID lariat -- the kind that has a clip on it and you can pull it out. In other words, instead of installing it on the outside of our house, we clipped it to his shirt pocket and he could pull out the string and push the button when he needed us. We laid the sound part of the doorbell system at the edge of the open staircase to our lower level. Our condo is over 3,000 square feet and you could hear the bell throughout the entire house, the deck and the lower patio.

This little concoction worked great for us. Dad has passed away but Mom has it on her night stand in case she needs help at night. I always thought this would be a great invention for someone.

Excellent creative idea!
I'll pass that along to a friend with an invalid mother at home. She's afraid to go outside for a minute and be out of contact.

[borjo]

There are some that can only be used inside the house with a monitor and speaker. You may want to consider one that can be accessed while the person is outside or running errands. Depends how mobile they are.

[Schaumburger]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I have heard some mixed opinions elsewhere on the web about Life Alert (high pressure sales tactics). I've also heard to find out where the call center is (it should be in the U.S. not in India or elsewhere in Asia). I may check out ADT as I have them in my home for alarm monitoring, and I believe they offer an alert service for seniors.

My dad is very mobile; he drives every day unless there is ice on the road, and he will still drive on the highway as far as my sister's house (40 miles from where he lives). What brought this up was my friend's father-in-law who unfortunately was found deceased in his home by his son -- he apparently had a major heart attack the night before, and he fell to the floor and could not get to a phone to call 911. Also my aunt who is 6 years old than my dad fell and broke her hip several weeks ago. Luckily my uncle called for the ambulance right away, but the damage was done.

Not only do I have to convince him to wear a pendant, in a few months we will have our annual conversation which is me trying to convince him to let me get a snow shoveling service for him.

[WVMtnBoy]

My wife and I signed my 81 year old mother up with the ADT service. Both the contract and the price was reasonable. When the installer showed up I took the alert button and tried it at the mailbox, in the basement, in the yard and everywhere else I could think of that was within the service area described by the company. It worked everywhere I tried it. She tests it every month but has never had to use it. She accidentally set it off one night and the calls to myself and her neighbor were very quick. I plan to keep the system for her when she gets to TV just for peace of mind when my wife and I aren't here. Hope this helps!