The Main Types of Medical Alert Systems for Seniors to Keep Safe

Medical Guardian Home Guardian System (Cellular, No Phone Line Needed)

If you are worried about your parents or elderly loved ones living on their own, senior medical alert systems are products that help them stay safe or minimize the impact of problems.

These systems offer live access to emergency monitoring centers with the click of a small necklace or wristband button.

Although simple in concept, these systems certainly serve the purpose of assisting the elderly whenever something unexpected happens. There have been innumerable cases of how lives have been saved or health disasters prevented because the system user was able to quickly access help.

LifeStation Medical Alert System Review — See system In Action!

What are Medical Alert Systems?

Medical alert systems are devices that allow you or your loved ones to quickly call for help in case of emergencies. If the user falls down and can’t get up on her own, she can use the system. If she feels somewhat lightheaded, nauseous, or sick, she can press the button and get help.

It could be for something simple or really serious, and calls are always handled with professionalism at any good medical alert call center.

The system provides a button that your loved one can press to get help. Once your senior presses the button, trained professionals at a central monitoring station will be alerted.

In one case, a senior lady found herself unable to get up from her bathtub after a bath. She pressed her button for help. An ambulance was dispatched to help her, and she was relieved to get the help she needed to stand up again.

A typical home medical alert system has three central elements.

Bay Alarm Medical In-Home Medical Alert System Console Unit and Alert Button

Base console unit

The base console is as big as a desktop phone. It should be connected to a phone line and a reliable power source. Newer console units also come installed with cellular SIM cards that will route calls through mobile networks. This bypasses the standard requirement to have a phone line in place.

Medical alert button

The medical alert button is also called a panic button, help button, or an emergency button. Your senior can wear the button as a wrist bracelet or a necklace pendant.

In case of emergency, your senior can simply press the button. An alarm signal is sent to the base console unit, activating an alarm call to the monitoring center.

Monitoring help center

The monitoring help center receives the alarm calls. The center has a staff of trained dispatchers or professionals who monitor the alarm calls 24/7. The personnel are trained to dispatch assistance to the user right away if needed. They may send off an ambulance or get in touch with the emergency contacts of the senior in need of assistance.

Life Alert®

Medical alert systems are sometimes referred to as Life Alert systems. Life Alert is really the brand name of the company that was behind the “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up®” ads. There are many alternative systems that work similarly.

With progress in technology, Life Alert and other companies currently offer additional features and options, as we will next look into.

Medical alert systems with add-on features and alternative options

Some medical alert systems provide advanced or alternative features typical to a standard medical alert system. The more interesting concepts include:

Mobile alert with Global Positioning System (GPS)
Fall detection
No Monthly Fee

Mobile medical alert with Global Positioning System (GPS)

LifeStation Premium Mobile Alert with GPS

With advancements in technology, mobile medical alert systems with GPS have risen in prominence in the past few years. Mobile medical alert systems are relevant for seniors who prefer the assurance of emergency monitoring help whether they are home or out of home. They are also suitable for seniors who suffer from memory loss or dementia, as they are most at risk of losing their way if they are out on their own.

In-home medical alert systems are catalogued according to a fixed location or address. When an alert call comes in, the monitoring center assumes that the senior in need of help is at home — and therefore, dispatches assistance to that address.

If your senior loved ones are using a mobile medical alert system instead of a traditional home alert system, they can call for help when they are not at home. Provided that the system connects to a cellular network with strong signals, it is not limited to a defined range. The system works regardless of whether your senior is at home or somewhere else.

GPS tracking — Sharing of GPS info with family members or caregivers

In addition, these mobile alert system devices are equipped with GPS trackers. When your senior sends out an alarm call, the monitoring center receives info about the location of the unit, and by extension, the senior user. The operator is able to use this information to dispatch emergency assistance, when necessary, to the right place.

The GPS information can also be shared with the senior’s emergency contacts who may be trying to find where the senior is. The GPS locations co-ordinates are beamed to a central information depository at regular intervals. Some companies (eg. Bay Alarm Medical) have computer dashboards or smartphone apps developed to share this valuable information with authorized users.

Fall detection systems

You may want to have your senior loved one subscribe to a medical alert system that comes with a fall detection feature. The system comes with accelerometers (acceleration sensors) built into the medical alert button device. Thus, the medical alert pendant or bracelet worn by the user can sense once the user falls and send out an alarm call automatically.

This feature is particularly useful for users who tend to faint, fall, or go through medical episodes that could incapacitate them. Some users may not be able to press the emergency button when they are rendered immobile and disoriented by the fall. The fall detection technology makes it possible for the system to send the alarm when the user falls — even when the panic button has not been pressed.

There is, however, one important caveat. There is no guarantee that fall detection technology will be able to detect each and every fall. In one case that happened few years ago, the customer of a well-known brand of medical alert system fell off her wheelchair and passed way overnight. Unfortunately, the auto alert button did not automatically call for help as expected. For more details, check out our blog post Automatic Fall Alert Systems Will Not Detect 100% Of Falls.

No monthly fee systems

Many medical alert systems are based on subscriptions due to the monitoring service. If a senior is on a tight budget, it may be difficult for him or her to pay the monthly subscriptions required. Fortunately, there are no frills medical alert systems that do not require a monthly fee.

A no-monthly-fee medical alert system does not provide its users with access to live monitoring. When a user sends an emergency call, it is routed directly either to 911 or to the user’s emergency contacts — or both.

Compared to regular medical alert systems, these no-monthly-fee systems are less expensive due to the lack of ongoing customer and monitoring services, and they come with less add-on features and options. However, they are a lot less costly, and still allow the user to call out for help quickly.

In terms of equipment, the user gets a base console unit, as well as a speakerphone pendant which can be used as a necklace or a bracelet. One popular model is the Logicmark Freedom Alert. When the user presses the Freedom Alert’s emergency button, the system automatically dials up to four of the user’s emergency contacts — and 911 as well.

Conclusion

Most seniors prefer to age independently in their own homes. Medical alert systems for seniors allow them to stay in their own space, while providing the assurance that a monitoring professional is standing by to assist them if an emergency happens.

Newer mobile medical alert devices with GPS tracking are especially helpful for seniors who may be prone to losing their orientation when outside their home.

Automatic fall detection is another useful feature. It is especially helpful for seniors who are at risk of strokes, syncope, epilepsy and other ailments that render them susceptible to falling or losing consciousness.

With the great number of emergency response systems now out in the market, you and your loved ones have numerous choices. If you like to find out more, check out the Medical Alert Systems Reviews section of our site.

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