Medical alert devices and services advice requested

My dad just passed away and my mom has a walker she's using due to a broken foot she suffered a year ago. She says she's getting more mobile every day, but I'm still worried about her possibly falling. My dad was taking care of her during her convalescence and now that he's gone, I want to make sure she can get help if she needs it. She lives in Iowa and I live in Utah and so I'm not close at the moment. She won't allow any of us to stay or move closer to her to help out. She has close friends there who can help and she's looking to move to Utah eventually, but in the meantime, I'm looking at various medical alert services to allow her to get help in case she needs it and wanted to ask if anyone here has signed up for something like that and how it's worked out for you. I've got several companies I'm looking at, but wanted to ask around. Thanks.

My mom has life alert and it works great. If it goes off I immediately get a phone from them and they tell the situation in full...worth every penny...and it isn't many

My mom is in the same situation only she has fallen more than once

My mother had a life alert also- and it worked. The kicker is getting her to wear it. My mom did not and when she fell outdoors- I found the life alert on her bedroom dresser. Ours required she be within range of wifi which was less than that of her lot. If she travels she may need a portable hot spot in her car...Being away from coverage is a BIG issue.

By the way, I am getting one as I live alone and suffered two falls _one from ladder and second -down my brick entrance steps. Now I am awaiting surgery to repair all the shit I messed up. It would have been nice to call for help when these events occurred.

Best Buy has partnered with Great Call who specializes in elderly care. They have a program called assured living which actually can be customized how you want. The intent is to be able to use smart home technology to help elderly live more independent with family having piece of mind as the technology will send alerts if something is off of routine. Example is that there is a bed monitor and it can alert if they are getting up during the night more then usual. Really neat stuff depending on what one wants.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/services/assured-living/pcmcat1497550757159.c?id=pcmcat1497550757159

jshen said:

My mother had a life alert also- and it worked. The kicker is getting her to wear it. My mom did not and when she fell outdoors- I found the life alert on her bedroom dresser. Ours required she be within range of wifi which was less than that of her lot. If she travels she may need a portable hot spot in her car...Being away from coverage is a BIG issue.

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We had one for my grandmother when she was 97. She refused to wear it. Waste of money unless the person buys into the concept.

Thanks for the input. I'll look at the BestBuy and LifeAlert options. The services I've been looking at have devices that are waterproof, have fall detection and are cellular so they work outside the home. There's one with a GPS app if I wanted to see where she (well, the device) is.

I know Best Buy will send someone out to her home with no fee just to sit down and discuss options with no strings attached.

Blown00gt1 said:

I know Best Buy will send someone out to her home with no fee just to sit down and discuss options with no strings attached.

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That would be pretty useful for sure. I'll have to see where the nearest BestBuy is to her house.

Pribilof said:

We had one for my grandmother when she was 97. She refused to wear it. Waste of money unless the person buys into the concept.

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Yep, my neighbor died from not wearing his. Fell when he was in the bathroom, sat there for 3 days until one of the neighbors decided to go and check on him when we noticed newspapers piling up, he had managed to wedge himself between the toilet and the wall and was stuck. He was still alive when he was found but died a couple of days later from pneumonia since his window was open and it was the middle of winter.

Life alert was sitting on his nightstand.

If you can get her to wear one it can save her life, but its less than useless if they take it off frequently.

Another one for life alert. Saved my grandmothers life 2 times when she had heart attacks and when she fell down the stairs.

Great for you for caring OP. The apple watch has a fall down sensor.

lOOKnGO said:

Great for you for caring OP. The apple watch has a fall down sensor.

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I've actually considered an Apple Watch for just that reason.

Another thing to look into is a wall mounted key box that the fire dept/EMT has access to.

Put a house key, alarm code, next of kin, etc inside it and mount it next to the front door.

I did this for my mom after my dad passed, this way the fire dept wouldn’t have to break down the door if she needed help and I wasn’t available.

Many towns use a generic key, but my town has its own specific key, and the box can be ordered made to use the key of the town you live in.

The key box is made by Kidde. Only costs about $120.

DAVESVT2000 said:

Another thing to look into is a wall mounted key box that the fire dept/EMT has access to.

Put a house key, alarm code, next of kin, etc inside it and mount it next to the front door.

I did this for my mom after my dad passed, this way the fire dept wouldn’t have to break down the door if she needed help and I wasn’t available.

Many towns use a generic key, but my town has its own specific key, and the box can be ordered made to use the key of the town you live in.

The key box is made by Kidde. Only costs about $120.

Click to expand...

That's a great idea actually.

Supra Lock Boxes & Fire Department Lock Boxes | Kidde Lock Box

About the Kidde Senior Lock Box Program | Kidde Lock Box

Make sure family calls her daily. That’s about all you can do to make sure she’s discovered quickly if she falls in the house. Also have a health care professional check the house out to remove any traps for falling (loose rugs, etc etc).

I fix broken hips for a living and most of the ones we fix are unwitnessed, in-home falls. If the person lives alone they have a much, much higher chance of dying. Many of these people are discovered a day or two later by neighbors. By that time they are totally dehydrated and well on their way to getting pneumonia

If your mom is still using a walker from a broken foot that occurred a year ago, she is a very high risk for falling, and likely quite osteoporotic

kirks5oh said:

Make sure family calls her daily. That’s about all you can do to make sure she’s discovered quickly if she falls in the house. Also have a health care professional check the house out to remove any traps for falling (loose rugs, etc etc).

I fix broken hips for a living and most of the ones we fix are unwitnessed, in-home falls. If the person lives alone they have a much, much higher chance of dying. Many of these people are discovered a day or two later by neighbors. By that time they are totally dehydrated and well on their way to getting pneumonia

If your mom is still using a walker from a broken foot that occurred a year ago, she is a very high risk for falling, and likely quite osteoporotic

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This is definitely one of my big concerns for her. She was adamant about not having us uproot our lives to be closer to her, but it frankly scares me that she's living alone. The sooner I can get her to Utah, the better I'll feel. She does have a strong network of friends that check up on each other on a regular basis and that's some comfort, but I'd feel better with professional help. I'm looking into home care checks/services in addition to the medical alert services. I do talk to her regularly since I got back home and I also know that if 10 minutes goes by without her posting on Facebook, I should be concerned

Another piece of mind if she’s alone in a two story house, or has laundry room in the basement, is the Acorn chair lifts.

We had two installed for my dad, and after he passed my mom said she’d keep them. Some days she uses them, other days, don’t laugh, she uses them to send laundry baskets or items that are to big for her to carry up and down the stairs, that way she can walk up or down and hold onto the railing and not try to juggle things in her arms. She’s going to be 74 in June.

No help on this stuff

But I'm sorry to your father passed away.