What is the best kind of medic alert system for an elderly person?

My mother is 82 and is starting to fall a lot. She had polio as a young woman so one leg and arm are already weak. Anyone have any experience with medic alerts?

the one advertised on TV a lot. (Medic Alert?) She has never fell but my niece (all of two years old) has hit the button twice, once when it was hanging around my mother's neck and another time when it was laying on the table beside Mom while she changed clothes.

Each time Mom was in another room from the receiver but immediately someone came on the line and ask my Mom if she was okay. She assured them she was fine but if she had asked for help or had not responded at all the EMT would have been immediately called to check on her. It has given my brothers, sister and I a lot of peace of mind since my mother is determined to live alone as long as possible. She has some serious health issues and that little "thingy" has allowed her as much independence as possible at this stage of her life.

about it for awhile now. My father is healthy, but lives alone in a rural area...

so I'll keep an eye on this thread.

I've personally narrowed my search down to two: Lifeline and Rescue Alert. Lifeline has a pretty good rep, I guess. Rescue Alert allows a discount if you pay in advance. However, my MIL contacted some other outfit that also provides home security. If she goes with that, I'll find out the name and let you know.

I found this one here:

http://www.lifelinesys.com/index.jsp?campaign=105&keywords=medical+alert

and also this one that apparently the AARP endorses:

http://www.americanmedicalalarms.com/?source=yahmedicalalert&OVRAW=medical%20alert&OVKEY=medical%20alert&OVMTC=standard

You might try calling the AARP and a few other places to narrow it down a bit.

Falling and being alone is a very bad situation for anyone, especially and elderly person that is disabled.

An AARP endorsement doesn't mean much - all it means is that AARP got paid money to endorse.

It is like Democrat 4 Ever says. Apparently the person who has fallen can be heard by the ultra-sensitive monitor even if they are in another room with the door closed. In our area (Seattle) they charge about $89 to set up and explain the system in your home and $37/month. The person I talked to says they have about 80% of the market and that is about 1/2 million customers.

The company was very nice.

About $30 a month.

All Mom (87) would need to do is press the button on the cord around her neck and they would hear it immediately.

It worked fine but my Mom (Memory not good sometimes) would forget what it was for and just could not figure out how it worked.

We tried and tried.

The person also needs to be able to either pick up the phone when Medi Alert calls back or talk LOUD enough for the company operator to hear her when they call to respond to the Beeper.

If not, they call 911 after trying to call the first 2/3 people on your list. Then they call 911.


My mother has a very tiny voice and unless she was directly near the BOX, they would not be able to hear her.

The way that our house is built, that was hard.

Email me if you need more details.

* I finally got a new alarm system and it is near the front door.
If she can get to the Alarm Box,she may call the Emergency Line and they will be able to talk to her through the box.

It is so frustrating for Seniors, including Senior ME.

I have a Lifeline monitor. I have MS and I can't walk anymore except for a few steps. You get it through the Red Cross. They charge a nominal fee each month, around $30. They come and install a monitor that is activated by a button you wear around your neck. They tune the monitor so that they can hear you yell from any room in your house and a certain distance outside. It works off a regular phone jack, and they respond and send local help like police, firemen, or paramedics in any emergency. They explain it very carefully when they install it and there is no wait to have one put in. They even say that if you are just frightened or lonely they will talk to you. They have you test it once a month and if you don't, they beep you and send help if you don't respond. Why don't you give them a call and ask them about it? It sounds like it would be very helpful for your Mom and would increase her sense of security, and it would get help to her fast if she needed it.