*Requires month to month agreement and enrollment in annual billing. Professional installation extra. See important terms and pricing here.
Get an ADT Medical Alert System and help yourself or someone you love maintain their independence.
*Requires month-to-month agreement. See important terms and pricing here.
A medical alert system is a set of devices that allows someone to connect with a live operator should they experience a medical emergency. Here in America, the medical alert system dates back to 1975, when American International Telephone Company offered customers an emergency home system. The original system consisted of a large medallion worn around the neck and that, when pressed, would send a pre-programmed message to several different phone numbers.
Medical alert devices have come a long way since 1975, however. While the premise is still the same, the technology behind these medical alert devices is much more sophisticated now. The majority of medical alert devices still require you to press an emergency button, but some companies offer devices with advanced fall detection technology, which recognizes when a fall has occurred and automatically triggers a call for help.
Whether you need an in-home system or a mobile system, medical alert devices include some sort of base station with a medical alert necklace or bracelet. Should you experience some sort of emergency, you simply press the emergency button on that medical alert necklace or bracelet and a signal is wirelessly transmitted to the base station, which calls in to the monitoring center and connects you with a live operator. Depending on company protocol, the emergency operator can call 9-1-1 for you, contact your family, or contact neighbors or friends.
There are many reasons why someone would need a medical alert system. And contrary to popular belief, medical alerts aren’t just senior alert systems. People of all different ages and backgrounds might find them useful, especially if they suffer from certain medical conditions.
Cell phones have proven to be a wonderful invention. They not only allow you to connect with anyone, anytime, anywhere, but they also allow you to access any piece of information on the internet at any time you’d like. Cell phones, however, are far from perfect. In a true emergency, they lack the components of personal emergency response systems that guarantee your safety.
Here are the ways in which cell phones are unreliable when it comes to emergencies:
Interrupted Service
The old Verizon commercial with the tag line, "Can you hear me now?", is the perfect way to summarize the service issue with cell phones. Service is not guaranteed, and can be spotty in some homes, even if they are in a coverage area.
Not Waterproof
The major downfall of cell phones is that they are not waterproof—as anyone who has ever accidentally dropped a phone in a pool can attest! The majority of falls take place in the bathroom, after a bath or shower. A medical alert has the ability to come with you in the shower.
No Guarantee
Cell phones are great if you get stuck on the road with a flat tire or if you want to call your Grandson while you take the dog out for a walk, but there is no guarantee that they will come through for you in a real emergency.
With a fall detection pendant, the Customer Monitoring Center can be alerted after a fall even if the customer is not able to press the help button. Fall Detector is compatible with both the Medical Alert Plus and On-The-Go Systems.
Like most of the technology products on the market today, there is a wide variety of personal emergency response systems to choose from. Having advanced from a singular system that only worked through a landline phone connection, consumers today have many options for senior alert systems.
For The Home:If you’re in the market for home medical alert systems, consider going old school with a landline connection. These personal emergency response systems consist of a base station that plugs into both a phone jack and an electrical outlet and a corresponding medical alert necklace or bracelet.
For The Home:If you no longer have a landline telephone connection but are still looking for home medical alert systems, a home device with a cellular connection could work best for you. Similar to home medical alert systems with a landline connection, home medical alert systems with a cellular connection consist of a base station that plugs into an electrical outlet, but it does not need a phone jack to connect to a monitoring center.
On the Go:If you’re interested in having coverage both inside and outside of the house, you might find medical alert systems with GPS helpful. Not just used as senior alert systems, mobile medical alert systems are typically small enough to fit in a pocket or a purse and can go with you anywhere.
High-Tech:Perhaps the biggest advancement in fall alert systems is a medical alert with automatic fall detection. As far as senior alert systems go, automatic fall detection is the ultimate fail-safe when it comes to your health and wellness.
