Your Question:

How would your device connect to our existing ClearWire IP phone system? I would presume in a splinter at the back of the so-called ClearWire voice box?

I can see from your website discussions that there is some unreliability with connecting to IP phone systems that must be accepted, but am I correct that the degree of unreliability is fairly small?  In other words, no systems is 100 effective.

Robert

Marietta, GA

Hi Robert,

You are correct in that no medical alarm system is 100% reliable ever…we’ve had Space Shuttles explode and nuclear submarines sink…indeed they must be the highest engineered items we have ever made.

That being said your presumption is correct. What you would have to do is have a receptacle in your ClearWire system that would accept a typical male phone cord. The problem that occurs with most VOIP systems is more frequently failure of the medical alert system to be able to speak voice-to-voice but we almost always receive the signal and are able to dispatch 911 rescue. That’s because some of the IP packets do not arrive in the order required (or not at all) therefore making the voice part more difficult.

We use VOIP in our remote offices and at times we can’t speak to each other. The worst situation with the VOIP systems are that if you lose your internet, not only have you lost it but you have lost your phone system.

To date we have identified to IP carriers that simply can’t be made to work…I suspect this is because of the poor quality noise level. These systems are BrightHouse and AT&T U-Verse and ClearWire I’m sorry to say.

I hope this helps,

Jeff

Thanks; very helpful.  Happy Thanksgiving, even though you are working, much to my surprise.

Robert

Your Question:

I am looking for an alert system for my father who stays in an RV resort during the winter months.  I am not looking for a system that hooks up to a service, but am looking for something that he can use (push a button in case he needs help) that would notify a friend that would be located less than 1/4 mile away.  The alert could just be a sound to notify his friend that he needs him to come to my Dad’s RV for help.

Can you make a suggestion?  Thanks

Ernie
Phoenix, AZ

Hi Ernie,

Your request is a common one to a medical alarm service. I have not seen any reviews that deal with this issue. Basically, it sounds like you are looking for a noise maker that would wake up all the other RV’ers to reach his friend a ¼ mile away.

I think your best solution is a monitored system. What you want is usually asked to notify someone in the same home…for that I think Radio Shack may have an answer.

My suggestion is that your dad, if he is not to use a medical alarm service that is monitored would be to carry a cell phone on his person at all times with a speed dial set for his friend.

Sincerely,

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

My mother is living at both my house in Danville CA and my sisters house in Los Altos. Can we get two transmitters for each house that would work with one necklace? How much would that cost to have an extra transmitter. What about if she was away from our homes at a restaurant and she fell in the bathroom. Is there a wireless transmitter?

Thanks,

Hildy

Danville, CA

Hi Hildy,

Yes you can get all of the medical alert transmitter help buttons that you want. Extra transmitters are $35.00 each; however, you get two help buttons for free.

If your mom falls in a restaurant hopefully someone will help her.

Sincerely,

Jeff

Your Question:

My mom is hard of hearing and I’m concerned that she won’t be able to interact with your operators at the monitoring center.  Is is possible to put more than one base station in a home so that I could be sure she would be close to one or the other?

Ron
San Francisco, California

Hi Ron,

We deal with clients like your mom all the time that have difficulty hearing. You only need one speaker in the home. The medical alarm system is set up so that if we don’t hear your mom we call the house…if she doesn’t answer we immediately dispatch 911 and then start calling your list of responders.

I hope this helps

Jeff

Hi Jeff

I have an aunt and uncle that are 90 and 93, respectively. I know my aunt has fallen a couple of times outside. Fortunately, a neighbor heard her yell.

If we buy your plan, does somebody come out their house if they hit the help button and  a nearby neighbor cannot be reached?  If so, how long would you expect it to take 911 to respond.

They live in Santa Barbara, California.  Does somebody from your company come out or do you just call the local emergency agency and they send an ambulance or paramedics?

Mark

Santa Barbara, CA

Hi Mark,

You are seeking help at a good time in your aunt’s life…after 2-3-4 falls a person starts to lose their confidence and life begins to change rapidly…particularly if she has to lay on the floor or outside for a long time.

It takes less than a minute for us to know she is in trouble…if we can’t hear her and she doesn’t answer the phone our Get Help Now medical alert system will immediately call 911 and then start to call a list of her friends and neighbors that you have designated.

The plugging in of our system takes about 5-10 minutes…all you have to do is plug it into the electrical outlet like a lamp and into the phone jack like a phone. Then you push the help button and test the system…our National Monitoring Center will come on line over the speaker box and as if she/he is okay.

BTW, Santa Barbara’s 911 response is excellent.

I hope this helps you,

Jeff