Help on medical Alarm

Hi
I can't speak for another country or even another state but, here in WA State, the area I live in, yes they are useful for when someone falls and can't get up. The bracelet, pendant or whichever device you choose is wireless and monitored by a central station. It should have voice activation capability so your parents would be able to speak to the person at the monitoring center. Depending on the situation, the monitoring person can contact the Fire Dept. who will respond. Hope that helps.

tribb, others can speak to this better than I can, but since the pendants may require the user to actively press a button you may find that eventually (the time may have even already arrived) your folks are too far gone to do even that. That was the experience of one of our members, re her late husband.

Tribb--

Welcome to A2K.

Your parents sound as though they have reached a stage when they can't be left alone at all--gadgets or no gadgets.

Contact your local Agency for Aging. At the very least you'll find some emotional support and you may qualify for respite care and senior-sitting when you must run errands.

The people at Agency for Aging will know what help is available, much of it for little or no cost.

Good luck.

Read the info in this thread. We had a discussion on this exact thing a few months ago that will be helpful to you.

http://www.able2know.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=103104

Help on medical Alarm
jespah and Noddy are right: you can't rely on them, as you describe them, to remember to activate the alarm. Further, should one of them fall and be unconscious, most alarms would not be activated, although there may be something out there that sends an automatic signal in such cases; I seem to have heard of one, but can't remember the details.

An agency which will send "companions" is a great help. They will send someone who is familiar with these situations, and can stay with your parents while you go to market, the dentist, etc. These are not nurses, but they are trained to help and watch over elderly persons with mental and/or physical deficits.

I found one local agency, Home Instead (in case you live in the Boston area) to be wonderfully helpful. I was able to keep a weekly two-hour commitment and leave my husband in the Home Instead companion's care with a free mind, and to reserve one afternoon a week for errands, knowing that he wouldn't wander away.

Good luck.

Help on Medical Alarm
Tribb: Look for the Topic "Mental Decline & Dependency/Coping With Aging Loved Ones". This is a long ongoing thread about the elderly parent/spouse difficulty.

hey!..thank you!!! you guys have been immensly helpful and supportive. I did take a look at all the options and for the time being, because of financial constraints, I will still be taking care of them. I might get the bracelets for now, but yes, I think we need to have our other options open.

Hey Tribb , check with RL I noticed when I was looking on their site that they offer wellness checks. That is where they call and check on the subscriber at time intervals and if there is no response from them, they send help immediately. They also keep all emergency contact numbers on hand to alert anyone that is on the list in case of an emergency. In your case, you might want to check more into ResponseLINK, after I went to their site, I learned of their meal and prescription reminders as well as the wellness checks. This might be most helpful in your situation.

tribb- Welcome to A2K!

Are you out of the house all day. working? If so, your folks have lot of time to get themselves into trouble. Is there a senior day care center in your neighborhood where they could participate during the day? My mom went to one for years. It provided lunch, socialization, and a limited amount of nursing care. (Mostly watching for anything untoward)

I don't know at what point mentally your parents are, but at some juncture, they will not have the wherewithal to know realize that they need to press the alarm buttom when they need help.

It is good that you are with your husband. I run a volunteer group for caregivers. There is one single gal who cares for her elderly mother in her home. She has gotten alarms for both herself AND her mother, although the daughter is in good shape, both mentally and physically. (If something happened to the caregiver, the mother would probably not know to call for help).

Hello Amy,
Suppose for your old grandpa or granny is at home and has fallen down of his bed and needs immediate help .This is really a very crunch situation for an elderly person , this can be solved if an alert alarm system is being implanted. that can really help in monitoring each and every activity and can be beneficial in the cause. These pendants are very easy to use just make them wear round their neck .