Need help ordering Lifeline for Dad

[fabfive]

It is time that my beloved father in law needs a lifeline. He lives alone and had a fall recently. We are very lucky according to the hospital that he is still with us.

I do not know anything about this product. Can you give me advice? There are several different companies out there. His income is fixed so we need something affordable. I called the council for the elderly and there is a waiting list but that could me months.

 

[Sadie22]

I went through the local health department to get this set up for my mom when she had it. The program was administered through a department of the local hospital.

The kind Mom had worked through a device attached to the telephone. Periodically someone would come on and ask Mom if she was okay. If she did not respond the service would call the first family member on a designated list. Mom had a necklace to wear with a push button on it. The problem was she did not always wear it in the shower, was not wearing it when the bathroom door handle malfunctioned (but she had a screwdriver handy), and when she had her stroke, the necklace was lying on the bedside table on the other side of the room (although she may not have been able to push the button even if she had been wearing it).

Has your DFIL been evaluated for other services? If he is going to be prone to falls, he may need more than a call device now. Mom was going to Medical Adult Day Care, and when she was not ready and waiting for the bus the morning of her stroke, the bus driver went in and found her and called 911. In her community she could go to day care up to five days a week where nurses would monitor her and she received two meals per day. The fee was on a sliding scale based on income and very reasonable.

Family members and neighbors also visited her on a regular schedule and took her shopping or brought groceries and whatever she needed. She is in assisted living now.

 

[fabfive]

I wonder if the Council on Aging is the same as your local health department. Overall Dad is in good shape his blood pressure dropped and that is what made him pass out. He still drives, cooks and takes care of himself. We are blessed. The problem was that the COA has a waiting list so now I have to do this privately. What questions do I need to ask? Is one company better than another? I just want to be educated before I call.

 

[NotUrsula]

...

The kind Mom had worked through a device attached to the telephone. Periodically someone would come on and ask Mom if she was okay. If she did not respond the service would call the first family member on a designated list. Mom had a necklace to wear with a push button on it. The problem was she did not always wear it in the shower, was not wearing it when the bathroom door handle malfunctioned (but she had a screwdriver handy), and when she had her stroke, the necklace was lying on the bedside table on the other side of the room (although she may not have been able to push the button even if she had been wearing it).

This is the problem with most of the "panic-button" monitoring devices -- seniors will NOT wear them continuously, especially when they are necklaces. I kind of think that the only wearable systems that would really be worthwhile are the sort that are worn by addicts; the biometric bracelets that cannot be removed.

The other alternative is a system that uses motion detectors in the home. They are not cameras, just the sort of beam sensor that lets a store know when a customer has come in the door. The usual spots for the beams are the doors to the kitchen and bathroom, the entry doors to the home, the staircases, and the medicine cabinet (or wherever the person keeps their meds.) Essentially, they monitor the person's routine, and when no movement is detected for an unusually long time during the day (if the exit doors have not been opened), then they call on the phone to check. If the person doesn't answer, it notifies someone to go and physically check on them. (I'm simplifying; there is a bit more to it than that.) Examples of this kind of system are BeClose, QuietCare, or GrandCare. I haven't been in a situation to use them myself, but we may be looking into them soon for MIL.

PS: Conditions that cause blackouts are very tricky, because they can be very dangerous if the person still drives. A few weeks ago my MIL noticed that she lost her rearview mirror somewhere between leaving her house and leaving the post office, but she couldn't figure out how. Obviously, she blacked out while driving and sideswiped something, but she has no idea what she might have hit. Luckily it scared her badly, and she has permanently parked her car. (We're going to give it a little time and then offer to buy it off her for DS, who won't be old enough to drive for another year. Once he gets his license, we're planning on having him use the car to drive Grandma on her errands.)

 

[MSSANDRA]

We used life alert for my mom. It it one of the more expensive companies but service was top notch. When I called they asked me first thing if my mom was aware of my call.She was and was totally on board. They told me that they had different items depending on the persons needs. She lived alone and would fall sometimes but also still drove. She had the necklace that we wore 100% of the time as she knew how important it was. She also had a 911 device that she had in her car in case she "forgot" how to use her cell phone in a emergency situation.

She fell one night and could not get up. WE live next door. With in minutes they had called 911, my sister and my self and stayed on the intercom till we were there and told them she was ok.

there is a rather long term contract but it is voided upon a nursing home placement or death. My mom died about 6 mo after we did hers and it was easy to stop. They are worth at least talking to. I was impressed with them.