Medical Alert Device

Medical Alert Devices Can Get Emergency Medical Services to a Stricken Person Fast

I'm guilty of failing to make sure my mother was protected by a medical alert device, and I feel sad about that, although she never needed it. When she started having real problems living alone and with falling, I was there with her anyway.

I had only a vague idea that medical alert devices even existed. I knew, but had no direct experience, and I didn't watch TV, so I didn't see the commercials.

Plus, although getting up in age more than I cared to think about, my mother was very self-sufficient and active. I always thought of her that way. Of course I knew she was getting older, but she never seemed really "old." Until about six months before she passed away, she drove herself and got around on her own. She had a very busy and active social life.

By the time the tumor caused her so much pain in her back she couldn't drive, I was there, fortunately - but it was not something anybody planned for. And when she started going downhill and having problems, I was still there. So it worked out.

And early in the process my sister shopped around and signed Mom up with Philips Lifeline, and they have a good medical alert device program.

But we all wrong to let Mom get so old before protecting her. (I'm including Mom, because she also knew she was getting older. And she also knew that her father spent a night on the floor of his bathroom because he had a stroke. It's just lucky that my aunt went over there the next morning and found him.)

A Medical Alert Device is Not Expensive

Money should not be a factor. They run around $25 to $30 per month, and some have a more substantial upfront fee for the equipment - but if you have a television or a cell phone you can afford the cost. If your elderly or disabled loved one living on their own died one night because they fell, wouldn't you wish you'd spent a few dollars getting a medical alert system for them?

They don't have to be living on their own, either. I just happened to be staying with my mother when she really got sick. But I wasn't there 100%. Most people have to go to work. I sometimes had my own business to take care of. Mom never fell while I was gone, but she could have.

And of course at night she wanted her privacy. The morning she fell in her private bathroom she woke me up by shouting, but what if she'd had a stroke or injury and couldn't yell that loud? I wouldn't have found her until I woke up the next morning.

Even Active, Healthy Seniors Need the Protection of a Medical Alert Device

According to statistics, one out of three Americans age 65 and older falls in any given year. Their odds of surviving that fall are six times greater if they are found within the first hour.

If somebody has a stroke, every minutes without treatment "dramatically" increase their risk of death or permanent disability.

According to The National Safety Council, over 3 million people will be injured in their home. More than 100,000 of them will be permanently disabled. More than 20,000 will die from the injury.

According to The National Heart Association, 350,000 of the 1.6 million Americans who die from a heart attack every year die because help does not arrive on time.

According to The New England Journal of Medicine elderly people who live alone becoming incapacitated and unable to get help is common. And it usually the end of their independent living ability. So many people don't invest in a medical alert device until they've had a problem. It may be too late after that. Don't wait.

Next: Senior Medical Alert Devices -- these devices protect you at home.