Last week I spoke with our customer, Edie, from the San Diego area. She had an unusual question for me. Edie adopted a cat that is 8 months old. The kitten is pretty wild, and she was concerned that he may mistakenly unplug her medical alarm system while playing behind her nightstand.

My first recommendation to Edie was to tape the console’s electrical cord to the wall. This can be done with any type of tape, and goes a long way to ensure that the plug isn’t disconnected unless you want or need it to be. In fact, this is a smart idea for all of our customers.

While Edie knew that the speaker box has a back up battery, she didn’t know that- if her kitten were to knock the Medical Alarms electrical plug out of the outlet- it would transmit a low battery signal back to us. We take care of these low battery calls every day, and try our best to make sure that everyone’s system is plugged in and working. So don’t stress Edie. Your time is better spent worrying about him clawing the couch!

Also, our office mascot, Spooky the cat, says hi!

I hope this helps,

Nic

I spoke to a woman a few weeks ago from Pittsburgh who was concerned about her mother, who lives alone, one hundred miles away.  Her mother had just celebrated her ninety-fifth birthday (congrats!) and while her mother had been completely independent for many years, she was starting to have trouble getting around on her own.

I spoke to her about our Get Help Now medical alarm and how it can be a great piece of mind, not just for her mother, but also for herself.  She ordered our medical alert service and called me back today to thank me.

Her mother had just used the help button the previous night after she had a bad fall and couldn’t get up.  The local paramedics arrived at the home within minutes and she got the help she needed.  The medical alarm had saved her life.

We hope your loved ones never have to use our medical alarm.  But in case they do, it can save their life.

Executive Vice-President Woody Andrawos and Director of Operations Todd Shuff give an exclusive look at American Senior Safety Agency’s National Monitoring Center!

Find out how our monitoring center is certified, our operators are trained and the contingency programs used when dealing with emergencies.

A medical alert necklace provides a senior with the peace of mind that with the push of a button help will be on the way.

The elderly are able to maintain their independence at home longer by wearing a medical alert necklace.

When your loved ones are in trouble they need a life line to reach out for help.

Frequently their life line is a senior medical alarm system that acts as a first alert if they fall or can’t reach the phone to call for help.

Seniors living alone live longer and with more confidence to stay in their own homes with a medical alarm at their side.

In my opinion, their own home is where a senior thrives best and is most comfortable.

I need to purchase an elderly medical alarm for my father who lives alone and has fallen in the past and needed help.

Doing a simple internet search, I was inundated by so many different companies. It’s very confusing.

How should I choose which company to sign up with?

Don
Brooklyn, NY

Hi Don,

I talk to people everyday who are equally confused. In reality the equipment from each company is very similar. Thus your decision should comes down to price, service, dependability, experience and reputation.

Questions you should ask include how much will you be paying monthly? Are there any other charges, like setup or installation fees? Can your price be raised? Are you committing to a certain time frame of service? How long has the company been in business? Is the monitoring center certified?

An independent website like Lawserver is a good start to compare different medical alarm companies for the elderly. Browse their site it’s a good read. And of course, we love what they have to say about us.

I hope this helps,

Noah

Your Question:

My elderly uncle does not have more than two phone jacks in his apartment.  He uses both of them already.  Does he need to get a separate phone line to use your emergency medical device?

Tammy

Baltimore, MD

Dear Tammy,

Your uncle will not need to put a separate phone line in his house to use our medical alarm. 

He would simply plug our speaker box directly into the phone jack in his wall and then plug his phone into the back of our medical alert.

Feel free to email me with more questions you may have.

Michelle

Of course, being the CEO of Get Help Now, Inc. I am prejudiced toward our own medical alarm system.

The key to our success is the quality of our Monitoring Systems approach. Our National Monitoring Center (NMC) is UL certified, Department of Defense approved as well as FM certified.

What do these approvals and certifications mean?

1. It means that we monitor within the United States, and we have the highest certifications and approvals in the land. Sometimes our competitors like to fool you and say that we monitor our systems in India. I have nothing against India but it just isn’t so. I guess they can’t figure a better way to beat our high quality service other than to tell and untruth.

2. Our National Monitoring Center is located in Aliso Viejo, CA and our fully certified back up monitoring center is located in Irving, Texas.

3. By having 2 completely redundant monitoring systems we stand apart from the rest.

We will answer your phone call to our center in 2 rings or less almost always. I’m very proud of what we do. We care.

Medical alert systems have long been known to help the elderly live a longer more productive life…especially if they fall often.

These 1st alert systems prevent your elderly mother or father from lying on the floor for hours or days.

Having been a pioneer of the medical alarm industry in 1980 I have heard untold stories of elderly seniors needing our help. What makes us different from many other medical alarm companies is that we care. I employ people like Michelle Moore to answer our service calls from the elderly…her Masters in Clinical Psychology gives us a better understanding of the elderly needs of our clients.

I often smile when I hear Michelle spending an hour on the phone with a lonely or confused senior and then getting off the phone and saying, “I love my job”.

 Jeff I have a question:

I am looking for a life alarm system for an elderly couple. We had life alarm system put in, only to realize the system is not compatible with their phone service. They DO NOT have a landline system from a major phone co. ATT, Pacific Bell etc.  phone in their home is thru their cable co. I believe it is Comcast cable. do you know of any system that works with cable phone service.

Pat

Sacramento, California

Hi Pat,

This is a sticky question. We have recently decided to allow our clients to use our systems with phones like Comcast…as long as they understand the issue at hand. Land line system phone systems sometimes don’t work perfectly when a medical alarm button is pushed…indeed they may fail. This failure possibility cannot be removed it is the nature of technology. That being said, replacing a land line based phone system with an Internet protocol (which is what a Comcast phone line is) places a larger unreliability to a medical alarm.

Both can fail, but an IP or voice over internet protocol VOIP has a higher incidence of problems due to the nature of the Internet, not due to the equipment used. In most cases the medical alarm will work when the button is pushed…when it fails to work perfectly it generally cuts off the ability to talk back and forth with the client but usually the message (signal) of the system works and the client is sent help without talking to them.

Whether a system can work at a particular time by either system is impossible to know at the time it is pushed, that is why all wise agreements state that the system can fail. Even 911 may fail to perform properly once they have been notified.

There is no equipment in the land that can guarantee with any certainty that the VOIP phone nor the land line can work at the time needed. However, VOIP is less predictable than a land line due to the nature of the Internet technology.

I hope this helps,

Jeff

Dear Jeff,

My aunt, Marion is a client.

She has been, or was, testing the unit daily, so it gets a lot of use.

She has also had two instances of needing help.

My question concerns battery life of the pendant transmitter of the medical alert.  Is it user replaceable?
Obviously, the life depends on the usage, but what is the range?  Is there a “low battery” warning?

Dennis
St. Paul, MN

Hi Dennis,

Your Aunt Marion is doing exactly as she should. Testing our medical alarm is very important to ensure her safety.

The range of the pendant needs to be range tested at her location.

The battery is not replaceable in the pendant transmitter. It will notify us if its battery is running low.

The average life of the pendant battery is a good 3-5 years.

Jeff

Loved ones are often concerned if they are making the right choice for their medical alarm company. This is reasonable.

What’s scary is that they often don’t check on mom, dad, aunt, uncle or loved one are testing their medical alarms on a regular basis.

It’s important! To often once the medical alarm system is purchased they leave their loved ones on their own. Trust me, our loved ones as the get older often forget to test. They can be left with a worthless help button if not tested.

Also testing their help buttons keeps them used to and comfortable with the system.

I can’t tell you how many of my clients have fallen and not pushed their button. When I ask them why they didn’t press their button. Mom will often reply, I wasn’t sure what to do…or, I didn’t want to  bother anyone.

Take the time to make your parents and loved ones comfortable with their medical alarm system.

I hate to sit here and lecture, but I hate more hearing someone was in trouble and didn’t get the help.

Make sure you and your loved ones can get the peace of mind you both deserve.

If you switch your phone system service make sure you check with your medical alarm company to make sure your medical alarm system is compatible with your new phone system.

Often times, children or their parents, change their phone system to save money, only to find out that they have jeopardized their safety relative to their medical alarm system.

Some companies will tell you that their medical alert works with IP internet phones. If they do work, it is inconsistently. Inconsistency in a medical alarm device is a dangerous thing. If it doesn’t work 5% of the time since the Internet is not predictable, when you push the help button when you need it most….it may not work.

IP phones are a horrible idea to use with a medical alarm system.

Be careful, be safe…don’t do it!

When it comes to a choice between retirement homes or staying in your own home with a medical alert device…it’s an easy decision.

Medical alert devices that have a help button worn around the neck are less than $30/month…and they give mom, dad, aunt, uncle or loved one a sense of peace of mind. It gives mom the confidence to stay in her own home knowing that she can push a button and help will be on it’s way.

The medical alert device  first alerts the monitoring center of a senior’s problem and then notifies the family of what’s happening.

Don’t let your loved one be afraid of staying in their own home.

With this tough economy Project Senior Safety Public Charity is reaching out to visiting nurses, social workers, discharge planners and senior centers offering free medical alarm systems.

The way it works is that these organizations can request free medical alarm systems for their clients who can’t afford a system…the catch, they simply have to add us to their provider list so that we may get some of their clients who can pay as well. This will allow the program to continue.

The American Senior Safety Agency is donating these systems to Project Senior Safety Charities…this is a classic win-win.

The agency has also already donated 2,000,000 Vial of Life Decals to communities and individuals around the country for years.

If you would like to participate in this new program call Project Senior Safety Charities at 1-888-473-2800.

If there is only one phone jack in the house, will your medical alert work with a plug-in to the phone jack?

David
Flint, Michigan

Hi David,

Yes the medical alert can be used in a house with only one jack.

You simply plug our speaker box directly into the jack, then you plug your phone into the back of our medical alert.

Jeff

Who is the best medical alarm company for seniors?

I respectfully submit that there is not just one great medical alarm company…there are numbers of them.

Probably the better question is…are the large medical alarm companies the best place to entrust your loved one to. I offer you a resounding NO!

Many of the large companies are so deep in corporate earnings that they do not have the proper corporate culture.

Call all of the companies that seem reasonable to you…listen to them with a discerning ear. Quickly you will understand how to reduce your choices to a few good companies.

Don’t only consider price, listen to how they speak to you…are they real people or robots?

If they speak badly of other companies stay clear of them…they should stand on their own merits.

The most expensive medical alarm companies and the cheapest the cheapest may not be the best choice for you. Both inherently can be scary. Large companies don’t always pay enough personal attention, the smallest often have the same problem. The old adage that “You get what you pay for” is not necessarily true.

You must do your homework, order everyone’s brochure and ask questions…then give yourself a gut check.

Be careful, this is the life of your loved one for which you are entrusting to a medical alarm service.

Seniors with medical problems or just simply living alone should have a medical alert system in the home.

Do these elderly medical alert systems work with a cell phone?

Countless times I have heard of seniors who have been on the floor for hours unable to reach the phone for help.

Do these elderly medical alert systems work with a cell phone?

Not only do seniors need access to medical alert systems, they often need their families help to stay current with the system once they have plugged in the system. Time often makes it difficult for our loved ones to use newer technology. These medical alarm systems are as simple as push the button to get help. That doesn’t mean a senior is comfortable with the system you may have plugged in for them.

Do these elderly medical alert systems work with a cell phone?

Teach them to test it monthly. All they have to do is push the button and then talk to the operator to tell them that they are just testing the system. If they don’t get comfortable at the beginning when they receive the medical alarm they may be afraid or confused of pushing the button. Look at this through their eyes, not yours.

Do these elderly medical alert systems work with a cell phone?

Medical alarms save lives. They can do nothing if the button for help is not pushed.

Jeff,

My mom has familiar tremors so her hands shake badly and the shaking is worse if she is scared or nervous.  I am looking for a company that can provide push button response not only for medical but if she was afraid someone was breaking in , she could push her button and have 911 called.   Phone dialing can be a challenge for her.   When I called your company I was told they could not guarantee that they would call 911 if it was not a medical emergency.  The operator may require her to dial it herself.

Why is that?  Why would you tell a senior who may have trouble dialing the phone that they have to call 911 themselves because it is a safety issue and not a medical issue?

That does not make sense to me.

Thank you for your time,

Joan

Hi Joan,

Although it is not meant for a panic alarm, if your mom told us she needed 911 we would call them for her. It would be up to them how they responded. Which is true in all circumstances.

Sorry for the confusion.

Jeff Miller
CEO

Dear Jeff,

I am a 77yr old widow living with my daughter and her family. My bedroom and bathroom are downstairs in a large older  home.  All other bedrooms are on the second floor.  I have my own phone line right by my bed and thought that was all I needed at this time in my life.  Last night I fell going to the bathroom and could not reach the phone or get anyone to hear me for avery long time.  I was finally able to get myself up and use the phone.  I would like to have some kind of alert system that I could ware at home and call someone in the house ONLY..  I was not hurt badly enough to call 911 and there is someone here at home at all times , however I would not like to have something like a baby monitor on all the time.

Thank you for any suggestion you may be able to give me.

Sincerely,

Jasmine

REPLY

I would suggest a medical alarm in case you have a real emergency. If you are not hurt and can speak your family would be notified…but in case there is a serious emergency…help would be on the way.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

Subject: MEDICAL ALERT EQUIPMENT

Just signed up for service for my mother.  Can you tell me if the pendent she is wearing is waterproof?

Can she wear it in the shower?

Regards,

Donald

REPLY

Hi Donald,

Thanks for ordering from us.

Yes the pendant is designed to be worn in the shower or the tub.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

Dear Jeff,

Subject: system questions

 I am looking into/comparing alert systems for my parents- they live in Marlboro, NJ- Please advise the location of the monitoring center that covers this location (zip code 07746) and the response sequence that is enacted when a notification of a problem is received at this center- Please also include current fees/rates monthly, quarterly, annually – as available-

Thank you for your fast response to this email- we are looking to make a decision on a system to purchase within a wk-

John

REPLY

Hi John,

We like most national companies monitor from one central location…ours is in Southern California with its backup station in Texas.

I know your area well, as I am a graduate of Glassboro or now Rowan University…in fact, I started this company in Philadelphia.

When an emergency occurs we respond with your local Marlton 911 center.

We have 3 price programs:

Quarterly payment 89.85 which equals $29.95/month

Semi annual payment $161.70 which equals $26.95/month

Annual payment $299,40 which equals $24.95/month

I hope this helps, thanks for including us in your search,

Jeff Miller

President

Now we have the system…it’s tested and working (so easy!), and my mom wants to know if she can keep the necklace on in the shower? If you have already provided this info somewhere, I apologize for not finding it on my own.

Thanks,

Mary

REPLY

Hi Mary,

Absolutely mom can where it in the shower or tub, just not in the swimming pool. The pool’s chlorine will effect the seal of the help button necklace she is wearing, eventually causing the seal to become brittle and break.

We feel your mother should absolutely wear the pendant transmitter in the shower or tub, it is one of the most critical places where senior citizens fall and can’t get help.

Jeff

…but when I used the live chat to ask about using your system with our fiber optic phone service (Verizon FIOS) I was told it wouldn’t work.  Is that correct?  We do not use VOIP and I thought FIOS was more like DSL.  But maybe not.

Actually I thought our consideration might be electricity - as I understand it, the FIOS uses on a box that’s hooked up to electricity and is therefore subject to power outages.

Can you clear all of this up before we take our next step?

Thanks very much,

Mary

REPLY

Hi  Mary in Florida,

I am not familiar with FIOS. I would be most happy to research exactly what it is with Verizon.

If you can wait a day, or possibly hours, I can let you know if we can work with it.

Unless you know, do you just plug a standard phone into an rj11 outlet…standard phone outlet…and then the phone works. If that is the case, our system will work.

Please let me know before I do research.

Thanks,

Jeff

HER REPLY

I just spoke with Verizon, so if anyone else asks…the fiber is simply an upgrade to the copper wiring of old land lines.  Otherwise, the difference is that, if there’s a power outage, the isn’t a generator down at a substation that kicks in to keep the phones working — it’s the battery backup in your own house.  So it does work the same…and I’ll be placing our order later today!

Thanks for the quick response to my question.

Mary

REPLY

Great thanks for the new info.

Jeff

I need to get some type of medical alert device for both my Mother and Father. But our home is quite large. If there is only one device that calls and they respond into, how does that work from the kitchen, to the den, to the bedroom to the bathroom and another bedroom and bathroom way down the hall? 

Recently my Mother has fallen twice and all she needed was assistance to get up and not an ambulance. Our home is so large that my Father could not hear her and he could not have assisted her anyway. Is there any company that has multiple base units?

Pat

REPLY

Hi Pat,

One device will suffice in your large home. Your parents simply both need to wear their own help button to notify us that they need help. Even if your parent couldn’t be heard or was unable to speak, we would still know that they are in trouble and send out the local 911 services in your area…that may be the fire department, EMS or paramedics. It all depends on your city.

Multiple speaker boxes in the home can cause a problem, since both will be receiving the signal simultaneously. The pendant transmitter (help button) that they wear on their neck or wrist will work up to 300 feet or more…it all depends on your local environment.

Hope this helps,

Jeff Miller

Jeff,

My mother has a very soft voice and is also hard of hearing. My concern is placement of the speaker box in our 2 story house so that she would be heard in the event of a fall. Where would we place it (her bedroom is upstairs but she spends her days downstairs) so that she could communicate with your operator? What is the range of your speaker box?

Thanks.

Alice

Reply

Hi Alice,

The speaker box to our GET HELP NOW medical alarm system is best placed centrally within the house. We hear pretty well throughout a 3000 square foot home.

Conversation through the speaker box, with a soft spoken lady like your mom may be difficult depending where she falls and which way she is facing. Nonetheless, we will know that she is in trouble and alert her local 911 EMS service that mom has fallen and needs help.

Even people with strong voices sometimes are in an a difficult position in the corner of a basement and may have trouble being heard as in a conversation, or worse yet, sometimes they are unable to speak at all. But, we still know they are in trouble and send help.

I suspect since your mom’s house is a 2 story home one of the best placements for the speaker box would be near the stairs.

Hope this helps,

Jeff Miller

Jeff – We are in the process of researching a medical alarm system for my father, who lives with us.

In reading through your section on medical alarm issues, question #2 left me with one more question.

I understand all the problems with DSL, wireless hacks, splitters & VOIP – the question is then how does your system work?  Does it need to plug directly into its own phone jack> Does it instead operate via radio frequency, rather than phone lines?  How does it work???

Thank you for your time and assistance in this question.

Sue

REPLY

Hi Sue,

 Yes, our medical alarms plug directly into the phone system. That can be via regular plain old phone jacks as well as DSL. Splitters are okay as long as they are used correctly.

VOIP (Voice Over Internet Proticol) are not okay…to risky.

Wireless jacks ofter present problems with medical alarm systems.

Hope this helps,

 Jeff Miller

Hi -

We’ve just signed up with the service and my one question today is can we have you call me first — My mother is concerned she might hit the button by accident and would prefer not to have set off an alarm. She is also very hard of hearing and I doubt she will hear the call center at all areas of the house. I work very close to where we live and could respond 95% of the time just about as fast as 911 does.

Thank you,
Mary

Reply

Hi Mary,

We at Senior Safety do not feel it is safe to call you first.

In the past, we allowed the client to choose 911 first, or you first. We have learned that lives can be lost in this manner.

First we call your local 911 emergency responders, then we immediately notify you.

The safety of your mother is our prime concern. Fire departments, EMS, police and 911 would rather see a false alarm than a tragedy.

Hope this helps,

Jeff Miller

Jeff,

Can your medical alert button with a pacemaker?

John

Jacksonville, Florida

Hi John,

We transmit at approximately 300 MHZ…although we have not found a pacemaker that has any problem with this frequency. By all means, tell your cardiologist what frequency we send your help signal at so that you will be certain.

I think you should have no problem, but once again, double check with your doctor for safety’s sake.

Jeff Miller

I am looking for a monitor for my mother in Toronto, Canada. Can you put me in touch with a service there?

Janie

Hi Janie,

Sorry, I am not familiar with the companies that deal with Canada.

My suggestion would be to click on the various medical alert companies and see who does.

Possibly Phillips Lifeline Systems covers Canada. Try lifelinesystems.com

Hope this helps,

Jeff

Jeffery:

you mentioned many reasons why a senior should have medic alert alarm system in their home. You forgot to mention one particular one a laryngectomee, you know no voice box and vocal cords. they also would have a major problem during a medical problem.

Dominick

Hi Dominick,

You are correct indeed, a medical alarm system is important for all ailments…indeed, a medical alarm system is important even if you have no illness. It brings safety and peace of mind both to the senior citizen using it and their loved ones.

It’s not that I forgot to mention laryngectomee, that leaves a person unable to speak during an emergency. It’s just difficult to mention every reason possible.

I thank you for bringing this to the attention of others.

Thanks,

Jeff

Do you service Naples, Florida with your medical alert systems? I know it said, Ft. Myers, which isn’t far from Naples, but I want to check for sure.

Lauren

Hi Lauren,

Yes we service Naples as well as every nook and cranny in the United States.

Jeff Miller

For many proud seniors, living alone is their way of maintaining the independence that means so much to them. A quality Medical Alarm System offers a sure and simple way to protect this cherished lifestyle. Why? Because one push of the medical alert button allows your loved one to summon immediate help whenever it’s needed.

To help your loved one help themselves, Get Help Now for them with a medical alarm.

And you will have piece of mind knowing your mom, dad, uncle, aunt, grandfather or grandmother can live protected in time of an emergency.

What is the useful range of this Medical Alert system? I need something that can be used outside in the garden and outside areas around the house. The use radius would be about 100 feet. Maybe up to 130 feet in rare cases.

Thanks in advance.

Dale

Cleveland, Ohio

Hi Dale,

Our medical alert works approximately 300′ from where you place our speaker box. However, when the senior citizen is outside the walls of the house we won’t be able to speak to them…but, we will know they are in trouble and send 911 to the rescue.

Hope this helps,

Jeff Miller

Jeff,

Is the medical alert system monitoring base box included with the service fee?

Sally

Dallas, Texas

Hi Sally,

Yes the box for the Get Help Now medical alert system is included in all three price plans.

Jeff

My phone line is used for the transmission of data for my DSL modem high speed computer connection. It does not interfer with phone usage. Will this work with your medical alert unit?

Thanks in advance.

Dale

Jacksonville, FL

REPLY

Hi Dale,

Yes our medical alert system works fine with DSL modems…you just need to use the DSL filter that comes with your system.

Jeff

Hi,

We recently secured a Lifelink alarm system at an auction.  It is model EM-300Voice, FCC ID:CNA300PERS.  We have no instructions as to how to operate it.  What can you tell us?

I am a antique telephone collector and this was wrapped some with the transformer and modular cord and looked interesting so I bid 3.00 on it just to see what is was.

Thanks for the information.

Bill

REPLY
Hi Bill,

It was not a good move to buy a non supported piece of equipment. But I do understand your curiousity. I’ve never known of an antique telephone collector…sounds like an interesting hobby.

You could call us and for as little as $24.95 per month and be hooked up with our medical alarm service, and a service contract. We provide the equipment for your use at no charge. I’m not familiar with the LifeLink alarm system that you mention…I suggest you call them and see what they would charge you for usage. But honestly, I don’t think anyone would hook you up without checking the system over again for safety.

Good Luck,

Jeff

Yes,

I need some kind of paging system so my mother can beep.. ME. She is to the point where she can’t walk,,, and i need some way for her to notify me that she needs to go to the bathroom…or whatever she needs.

I do NOT need a medical alarm system that call medical people,,, only me.

can you help???

Bill

Chicago, Illinois

REPLY

Hi Bill,

If you don’t want a medical alarm system for your mom, I would suggest hooking up a bell that she could ring you with, or a baby monitor would work…given you both live in the same house.

But, if I were you, I would give strong consideration to a traditional medical alert…she may have something more serious happening to her one time…and at that time, fast response within minutes is extremely important. Try Radio Shack or another electronics store for some simple electronic device that you may be able to use.

Jeff

JEFF ‘

WHAT IS THE RANGE OF TRANSMISSION OF YOUR GET HELP NOW MEDICAL ALARM SYSTEM???

MY MOTHER IS VERY ACTIVE AND WORKS OUT IN THE YARDS A LOT.

BERRY

Atlanta, Georgia (GA)

REPLY

Hi Berry,

There are two ranges to consider.

One is the distance we can hear your mom’s voice through our speaker box. That works inside the house up to about 3000 square feet. It varies with the houses construction, so you need to test the medical alarm system once you’ve plugged it in. You just walk around the home while testing the system and say, “can you hear me, I’m in the bedroom, etc.”

And this depends alot on the strength of the senior citizens voice. However, we can pick up soft voices.

Two, is the distance outside the house that our pendant button works…this is appoximately 300 feet, once again, you need to walk around your property and see if there are any spots it doesn’t work. Sometimes it can even reach 500 feet depending on the placement of our speaker box. Beyond that kind of distance makes it difficult for the fire department or 911 services to locate the senior.

It should work just fine for your mom in the yard.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

Hi,

I want to get a home medical alarm system for my 78 year old mom. I am somewhat “technology challenged”, and don’t really understand what those phrases in the upper subject line of this e-mail are referring to.

My mom’s phone system is hooked up via Time Warner Cable and if the electricity/ power goes out, the phone does not work. I would like to get a medical alarm system that works in the event of an emergency power outage. Is there such a thing and what do I look for?

Any help or suggestions would be helpful.

Thank you

Lois

Lexington, Kentucky (KY)

REPLY

Hi Lois,

Wireless jacks, splitters and voice over IP (VOIP) are all devices that give most medical alert systems problems.

Particularly VOIP we consider unsafe to use with any personal emergency response system.

Our GET HELP NOW medical alarm system has a battery back-up that will work for approximately 24 hours without electricity, and then when the power comes back on our battery will quickly charge back up again. It will work with your Time Warner Cable phone system.

Don’t feel badly about being technology challenged…many are…I sometimes can’t program my cell phone with it’s new features

Hope this helps,

Jeff Miller

Hello,

I’m confused about your medical alert monitoring system. What exactly does your monitoring box connect TO? Obviously we plug it into an electrical outlet to run power to it, but does it also need to be plugged into a telephone jack? If NOT, then how is the communication transmitted?

Many thanks,

Brady B.

REPLY

Hi Brady,

Let me see if I can help clear your thought about or medical alert monitoring system.

The monitoring box, we call it a speaker box, is connected directly to your home phone system…into your telephone jack.

That’s how it works.

Hope that helps,

Jeff Miller

Hi Lela,

We don’t consider that a safe way to go, however, I completely understand your situation. We used to do that, and found that a father died in this bed during a fire while his son drove the 5 minutes to his home.

That said, there is a good company called Vital-Link, who will accept your information the way you want.

Her response:

Jeff,

Wow, well I am going to print out your response and show it to my mom!   Thank you very much for the quick response to my question and for the information you provided.  Maybe with your eye opening response, however, I can get her to sign up for something a little more full proof as far as safety goes. 

Wish me luck!  

Thanks again,

Lela

My parents live together at their home (94 and 97 years old), they need an alert system. Should they each have a separate system?

How are they covered when they leave the house–take a walk, go to the store by themselves? (Someone should probably go with them)

Rich

REPLY:

Hi Rich,

There is no need for two medical alert systems for your parents. They simply each need a pendant transmitter (button) to communicate with the speaker box.

When they are off on a walk the system will only work within about 300 feet.

If your parents have a problem at the store one would suspect that a patron of the store or it’s employees would call 911.

Hope this helps,

Jeff Miller

Hi Jeff,  Does Meciare pay for any of this medical alert equipment. We were told that we would pay for a year up front and then medicare would reimburse us for part of that yr and also each year after. Do you know anything about this?

Diane

REPLY:

Sorry Diane…I think they only do it on rare occassions for medical alert systems.

Jeff Miller

Several Seniors in my community are interested in the ADT personal alarms that can be worn around the neck to be used in a medical emergency.  Would you please send some info to me at my e mail address.  I will print some up and pass them on to people here.

I am looking for something dad can wear on his wrist or (if small) around his neck that has a button to push if he needs help…  then we need multiple (3-4) receivers that can be plugged in next to our beds, the garage or wherever that will alarm/chime should he push the button.  The kicker is…. It needs to work within 120+ foot or more radius….Wireless door bells use the same technology…..  the only thing I’ve found is this cheap little nothing that only works within 50 ft…and it works well when the folks are in bed but doesn’t do squat for normal day-to-day stuff.  Won’t even chime when mom is out at the garden. What I DON”T want is a system you have to subscribe to a monitoring service where they call the house to see what the problem is and if no answer they send out the cops…  if dad were inside alone with mom in the garage or garden - he would not answer the phone anyways….  Plus, I want him to use it if he needs something - not just for emergency….Because dad’s stubborn sometimes - and the LAST thing we need is for him to fall and lay there.
Someone is at the house 24/7 so calling 911 or his doc is able to be done if necessary but we need a quick way for him to beep us when he needs any non-emergency assistance. Any suggestions.
Judith

REPLY:

Hi Judith,

I don’t know of such a medical alert device. Our Get Help Now medical alert system is a traditional medical alarm that will do what you want, however, if not responded to by someone in the house, we do dispatch 911.

It saves lives this way, you can lose a life without dispatch and without communication.

Good Luck,

Jeff

Does your firm call back after the alarm is activated? Does this call back consist of a dialog with the person wearing the alarm and, if so, how does that person respond if away from the base unit? What action is taken if there is no response? Will you directly contact the local emergency (911) operator after an alarm or must the contracting individual provide a friend/family number for you to call?

REPLY

Hi there,

Sure we try to talk to the person through our speaker box first. If we don’t hear from the person, we call on the phone. If we still don’t hear we dispatch their local 911 service. And then we contact that persons list of responders.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

I am looking for a monitor for my mom.  She works in her garden a lot and I am looking for one that will cover outside and in her greenhouse.  What is the range on your monitor?  Would this work for her?

Thanks, 

Marla

REPLY

Hi Marla,

The medical alarm system works approximately 300-400 linear feet from the speaker box. However, we would not be able to speak to your mom outside…but we would know that she is in trouble and send help.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

What exactly is a splitter?

Do you have any customer comments on your web site I could look at?

Debora

REPLY

Hi Debora,

A splitter is a device that you plug into your telephone jack that then gives you two outlets to plug your phone into. In other words, one phone jack is split so that they are now two.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

I have been to your internet site and have some questions.

My Mother is 87 and has decided that she wants an alert system.

What does it take to install the alert system box? Can an answering machine be used on the same line and where does that box go – between the wall plug and the answering machine? (Mother has a cordless phone system that has an answering machine built into the base unit.) Is the alert phone number a local or long-distance call and is it preprogrammed into the alert box (Mother lives in Oklahoma City)? What is the range of the alert button? If she were outside and had a problem, would the alert box pick-up the alert button signal?

How are the billings done? Are they by check or automatic bank draft? When mother passes, how do I stop the service and does the equipment have to be returned?

Thanks,

David

REPLY:

Hi David,

You just plug the box into the electrical outlet and the telephone jack, in the back of our box there is an additional phone jack. Treat the additional phone jack the same as you would a wall jack…here you can add, split, or chain your other devices.

The number dialed is an 800 number.

The range of the button is approximately 300′, you need to test it in the local surroundings.

If she were within that range inside the house we could talk to her, outside we would know that she is in trouble and send help.

The billing can be done my mail, email, credit card, or bank draft.

When you need to end service, you must return our equipment so that we stop billing.

Hope this helps,

Jeff