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.

Medical Alert Monitoring Secrets

The purpose of this blog is to explain to the layman how to tell the difference between a first class monitoring facility for medical alarms, and a lesser service. The points of differentiation, include (a)staffing, b) training, (c) primary mission, (d) technology, (e)track record and (f) back up plan. Let me start by saying having any medical alert system is better than none in place. Like any industry, we have good competitors. As a founding member of the Medical Alert Monitoring Association, I can tell you the senior market is growing. Growing markets also attract new players with unproven track records. This guideline should help you ask the right questions to increase your confidence in whoever you chose.
(a) STAFFING is a primary consideration when operating a monitoring center. Many security alarm companies dabble in medical alarms and use the same personnel for monitoring security systems as well as medical alarms. The problem here, is security systems require very quick dispatch calls. Each operator can handle several thousand security systems efficiently and quickly. If the alarm activates, a quick call is made to the premises to verify the alarm as false/actual. A medical alert is not a quick process. When the alert activates, the medical alert operator might need to remain on that call with the customer until help arrives...ten minutes or maybe longer. A second operator might be needed to dispatch the authorities, while the first operator keeps the client calm, and reassures them help is enroute. The bottom line is it requires double the number of operators to handle the medical alarm workload as compared to security alarms.. Of course, this doubles the labor expense. Putting a medical alarm customer on Hold is not an option for a medial alert monitoring center. Seconds count and literally mean life or death.(b) Staff TRAINING is important in any business. When lives are at stake, it is more critical. All medical operators, of course, should be 100% trained before they handle live calls. While this may seem like common sense, its not always standard procedure.In fact, The Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) has a standard requiring this and other qualifications. If the central station meets the standard, it is awarded the prestigious 5 Diamond award. If the prospective monitoring center doesn't 100% train the staff members before handling actual emergencies, in my humble opinion, they should be in another industry. There are a hundred + CSAA 5 star stations. There are a thousand + stations not certified.Other industry standards include UL listing, which while not directly related to medical monitoring, provides additional third party assurance that the facility, monitoring and staffing meet stringent insurance industry guidelines for fire and burglar alarm systems. A UL listed monitoring center would also be on my guideline checklist. (c) What is the PRIMARY MISSION of the
monitoring location. If it is a true medical alert monitoring facility, staff members should be familiar with medical terminology, and understand the critical importance of allergies, and medical history. The monitoring staff members also have to be empathetic. as we are dealing with frail and elderly clients in distress. Our monitoring operators bring three unique characteristics. First, they are Southern and flawlessly polite and patient. Second, the operators are employed by the largest private ambulance country in the country. They speak in the language of medical emergencies. There are over 2000 employees, including over 1500 that are medically trained. There are paramedics on duty at the monitoring center 24/7. Last, our operators are employee-owners of the company. This reduces staff turnover, and greatly increases employee accountability.(d) TECHNOLOGY is important at any monitoring center. Todays monitoring centers are continuous upgrading to keep up with advances in technology. We employ special phone lines that boost our audio signals, and make our two way voice systems sound louder, and hear better. Our special lines, provided by AT&T improve the quality of our audio performance by 25-30% over competitors. The phone lines are also self healing in case of outages, and all our systems are programmed to automatically dial multiple numbers to route around telephone line problems. I haven't mentioned about our equipment. It is made in the USA, and built for us by a manufacturer with 30 years of proven performance. (e) TRACK RECORD We have been installing and monitoring systems since 1979. This is not a sideline. I've seen medical companies have come out of the wood work on the internet with experience measured in days not decades. The next month they are gone. Tens of thousands of clients rely on our monitoring centers' expertise. (f)Secondary BACK UP centers are important when clients rely on you for their life safety. We have learned lessons from Hurricane Katrina, the wildfires in Southern California, blizzards, tornadoes, power outages, and terrorist attacks. A back up monitoring center is no longer luxury. it is a requirement. Every piece of monitoring equipment, also needs a spare ready to go on line instantly without missing a beat. This includes back up power generators, UPS systems etc. Today, I believe every monitoring station should have a back up station, with a redundant live database, and it should be located hundreds of miles away from the primary center. This eliminates the a natural disaster from knocking the monitoring center out of service. This is not paranoia. One major competitor learned this lesson the hard way, when their primary and secondary stations in Florida were both adversely affected by a hurricane. Our primary monitoring station is located in Lafayette, Lousiana. Our secondary center is at an undisclosed location in the Houston, TX area. A third disaster recovery center is in Michigan. As always, I hope you are better informed by this long winded blog, and if you have any questions please go to our website Pioneer Medical Alarm, or call us at 800 274 8274.

GPS and other new fangled Phones for Seniors

I am regularly, being asked to review new products and technologies to help clients safe in their homes. Vendors, visit me. I travel the world looking.I also attend trade association meetings including the American Telemedicine Association, and I'm on the Board of the Medical Alert Monitoring Association. New technology fascinates me. Some have great promise. Others duds.

As I write this blog, I am reminded of a letter we received this week with a returned medical alarm unit. The letter explained that our medical alarm had been delivered to the Senior, one an hour too late. Unfortunately, The client fell, required hospitalization, and ended up in a skilled nursing facility. The client is not expected to return home, and therefore the family member was returning the unit.. The point I'm trying to make is, if your loved one needs our services, (or any other senior safety product) don't procrastinate. Order today. A year too soon, is better than a minute too late.

One of the best products I've reviewed recently include the Jitterbug (www.jitterbug.com) cell phone for seniors. This is a cellular phone specifically designed for seniors. Big buttons, easy to see and push. Continuous dial tone, so it acts like a regular phone, and a comfortable loud speaker system. I think this is a winner, and bought this service for my mother.I am pleased to recommend it to clients. This is not a substitute for a medical alert system. I looked another cell phone with GPS tracking built in. The manufacturer boasted it helped track down, and save a lost dementia patient. I would argue the dementia patient never should have been allowed to wander the neighborhood. They could have been hit by a car. Powerful technology, but buttons way too small and complicated for seniors. When I tested the unit, it sent out the wrong address.Another limitation was an 18 hour battery life. I saw another product, that claims to be a medical alarm that will dial 911, without a monthly fee. One of our long term clients bought it this week for her husband, because it saved the monthly fee. I think this product, has some serious drawbacks when compared with a professionally monitored system. For example, the manufacturer claims the product is splash resistant. With a high probability of senior falls in the tub or shower, I don't want splash resistant. I want waterproof. If the device can't be worn in the shower or tub forget about it. Free monitoring sounds like it could turn into a costly mistake. Dialing 911 is great... if you are able to communicate. My experience suggest, the clients in trouble, may be unable to speak for themselves. Without communication 911 will dispatch police to investigate. In a medical emergency this is a waste of precious time. When the senior falls, we need to get them help immediately. The first hour is called the Golden Hour. Help received in the Golden Hour is the difference between continued independent living, and a nursing home or death. Our operators can relay all the critical client information, medical, personal, and lockbox codes to allow paramedics immediate access to the clients home. Not a bad deal for a buck a day. Last this product was the size of a cell phone. Not exactly the product grandma wants hanging around her neck.

New Technologies for Senior Safety

I am constantly searching for new technologies and approaches to keep our clients safe in their homes. I have scoured the planet, visiting Israel, Europe, and investigating products from Taiwan, China, and our neighbor to the North Canada. Some of these new products have great promise. Others look like fancy technology in search of an audience. All of the products can enhance safety, some greatly, others minimally. As I write this blog, I am reminded of a medical alarm unit we had returned this week. It arrived via FEDEX to a client. But it was an hour too late. The client fell, required hospitalization, and ended up in a skilled nursing facility. Sometimes, our units are returned , never opened, because the clients have expired before FEDEX arrives. The point I'm trying to make is, if your loved one needs our services, ORDER THEM IMMEDIATELY. A year too soon, is better than a minute too late. Some of the products I've reviewed recently include the Jitterbug (www.jitterbug.com) cell phone for seniors. This is a cellular phone specifically designed for seniors. Big buttons, easy to see and push. Continuous dial tone, so it acts like a regular phone, and a comfortable loud speaker system. I think this is a winner, and bought this service for my mother, and am pleased to recommend it to clients.