Medication Dispensers / Medical Alarm Systems

A medication dispenser is a machine that automatically delivers the client their prescribed medications in the correct quantity and at the right time. Many seniors end up in nursing homes because they are not compliant with their medications. This is unfortunate because many could continue to live at home with the help of a medication dispenser. Our system dispenses medications automatically, and needs to be manually refilled (by the caregiver) about once a month, depending on dosage requirements. The system is automatically monitored, so that, if the senior does not open the compartment to take their pill at the appropriate time, the system will make noise, and then send a signal to the monitoring center, so the caregiver can be notified and take appropriate action. This complete service is available for under $90 monthly including our medical alarm system. This can help keep seniors safely at home The alternative, the nursing home, results in reduced independence, and is substantially more costly. We have recently added these products to our medical alert product line. The units are not currently shown on our website www.pioneeremergency.com so call me personally for further information.

Medical Alarm / Customer Testimonials

One of the blessings of the medical alarm business is hearing from clients expressing their appreciation for our services. Its a special business ...saving lives while making a living. We are responsible for saving peoples lives on a daily basis, and we are so busy with the details of running our business, that we don't take the time to solicit referrals. But I can tell you, our staff is very appreciative of hearing the success stories. When I first got involved in the medical alarm business, I visited with my good friend Art Hoffman, of Berkeley, CA who has been in the medical alert business for decades. Art showed me a drawer full of letters that his satisfied clients, had sent to him after his clients pressed their buttons and utilized his services. I was impressed. Today, I've learned it comes with the territory in the medical alert business. After their emergency is under control, we get many calls, e-mails, and letters of appreciation from clients and loved ones. Even when the equipment is returned to us after completion of service, it is often accompanies with a note expressing gratitude for providing family members and loved ones peace of mind. So on behalf of my staff and myself, Thanks and please keep those letters coming. By the way, sometimes we do post these letter to freshen up our website. If you are a current client and want to express your gratitude just call our testimonial hotline at 800 609 9006 extension 3333.

Acadian Ambulance Heroes Working Overtime

It is Sunday August 31, the day before Labor Day 2008. Hurricane Gustav (now Cat 3) is heading for the coast of Louisiana. Acadian Ambulance (our monitoring center) has activated their back up center, and are now monitoring from both Lafayette, LA and Houston, TX. Eight Acadian Monitoring center A Team members were dispatched to Houston yesterday. The monitoring locations are 242 miles apart. This sounded like a good plan when it was implemented post Katrina. However, no one knows exactly where the hurricane will go.

Acadian Ambulance is extremely well prepared. Their preparations were demonstrated, tested and refine since Katrina. They are the first responders for medical assistance for the most of Louisiana, Mississippi, and parts of Texas. For the past 60 hours they were busy evacuating 1000 people from hospitals, nursing homes, including babies from NICU units.
My concern has multiple levels. First, I'm concerned for all the people in the Gulf Coast. Katrina was three years ago. Many people have still not recovered. Second, I have friends at Acadian that I have worked with for years. I talk with Acadian every day. I spoke with my friend Blane Comeaux yesterday. He was packing his prized possesions from his house in his SUV. He lives in Abbeville, LA and the expected storm surge may take his home. Like other Acadian members, he somehow manages to put this aside, so he can take care of others. His wife, is busy working at the hospital, she is a nurse specializing in Neonatal pediatrics. My heart and prayers go out to all the Acadian team members (2700 strong) who are dedicated to protecting and saving the lives of the Gulf community. Last, I am concerned about the thousands of Pioneer Emergency clients. Acadians primary monitoring center should survive, it was built to withstand 170 mph winds. The building (which also houses the backup 911 center for the region) has dual redundant power lines from the city in two directions. Phone lines are dual path fiber optic lines. It has dual redundant UPS systems, and dual redundant generators. The computer systems between Houston and Lafayette mirror each other. There are cells phones and multiple 2 way radio systems for communication. Last Hurricane Acadian staffed 100 inbound phone lines throughout the emergency. Inc. magazine awarded the company runner up for Entrapeneur of the Year , and they were credited with saving 7000 lives during Katrina. In short, everything humanly and technologically possible is ready to go. The monitoring center also has a third backup plan with a disaster recovery center in Michigan...just in case. I'm still worried, and concerned. No one expected a storm of this magnitude. I'm praying for all my friends at Acadian, our clients and all the people in the affected area. My son Matthew just called me to inquire about the situation and our medical alert clients. I told him I am cautiously confident. Having multi-state resources has become essential. The Hurricane contingency plans are in place, they have been rehearsed and they are being methodically executed. Good Luck to everyone affected and may G-d Bless you.

Seniors Living Alone

Almost every day in our business, I am reminded that seniors living alone sometimes need a little extra help. Last week a feisty, independent and proud senior needed some assistance plugging in her medical alert system. After she spoke with one of our customer service representatives, the call was accelerated to me. The poor lady could not find her telephone jack. When I suggested to her that her daughter could help solve the problem in 3 minutes, she got insulted and threatened to return the unit ! Then tearfully , she told me how painful it was for her to ask for help from her daughter. She indicated getting her daughter to help her was like pulling teeth. I contacted the daughter to explain the situation. The daughter explained to me that she had already told her Mother that she (the daughter)would hook up the system later that day. About three hours later the daughter called me to report that she had painlessly installed the system in minutes by following the E-Z written directions and it worked perfectly. Sometimes the tension between parent and adult children grows as the roles reverse and the adult child becomes the caretaker. Fortunately everyone got what they wanted. The daughter and the mother both get peace of mind they deserve from their new medical alarm.

Mothers Day + Medical Alarms

We just returned from celebrating Mothers Day. As the years roll on, each Mothers Day with my Mom becomes a blessing to my family. My siblings, and most of her grandchildren were together. This past year, she has changed lost considerable weight, and took a bad fall three weeks ago. If you are worried about your Mother, consider getting a medical alert for her. It will give both of you some peace of mind. Between visits and phone calls, I worry less.
I visited another relative today in a nursing home. It wasn't pretty. Although the facility and staff was excellent, it was depressing. I hope and pray my Mom is able to continue living independently.

Medical Alert On Line Ordering System

We launched an on-line ordering system about two weeks ago. I had been thinking about this for a couple years, but I'm not an early adapter, especially on the internet. Fortunately for me, my wife Barbara (internet publisher) and my son Matthew (Caltech student) eventually pushed me into action.( My daughter is too busy worrying about her driver test tomorrow to nudge me about anything) Barb sent me to a friend of hers to build the system, and in a couple of weeks of fine tuning it was up and working. Within the first week our first order arrived. The second followed 16 hours later. While I don't think any of our representatives have job security concerns, I'm glad to be able to help a new client conveniently place a medical alarm order 24/7.

Medical Alert Fall Detectors

A fall detector is a device that automatically detects a fall, and sends an emergency message to the monitoring station ...without the wearer having to press any buttons. This is a good concept, if the wearer is concerned with instantly collapsing without any prior warning. The warning signs, would of course allow them to manually activate the button. I have investigated several of these fall detectors, and want to report on the pros and cons. First, I believe less than 5% of medical alarm systems in service today are equipped with these detectors. In my experience, very few people instantaneously drop over unconscious. Usually, there are either warning signals, or the client falls down with injuries, but remains conscious. In these situations, the senior could of course deploy the button. I've never heard of a client unable to push the button when they went down. But, I stipulate, it must happen . Here are the problems I've observed with the fall detectors. They contain either an accelerometer, or a mercury tilt switch. These detectors are overly sensitive, if for an example they are attached to your belt, when your drop your pants to the floor,or you lay down, the tilt sensor activates. As a result, one of the systems has a built in audible "USER HAS FALLEN" whenever the fall detector activates. This give you a certain time frame, say one minute to untilt the sensor. If you straighten out the switch, or put it in its cradle when you sleep, it announces "USER IS OK". Interesting technology, for the 5% that have special needs, but a nuisance for most people. The original application for these devices was a man down sensor for prison guards ! Another model features an accelerometer. I'm not sure exactly what that high fangled technology means, or how it works, but it is supposed to detect a sudden fall. The device clips on to your belt. You kind of have to throw yourself on the floor a few times to test it out. I felt like Chevy Chase playing with these devices. Sometimes they worked, sometimes not. Belt clips work find for men, but I don't know how the women are supposed to wear the device. I was told you could strap the device in a pouch on a dementia patient. The battery life on the fall detectors is also less than a year, and compared to 50,000 presses on our pendants and wrist bracelets. We offer these systems on a special order basis and a premium price as an accomodation. We also offer sip and puff sensors, for paraplegics. For the average person, stick with the simple, field proven tried and true neck pendant. It works.