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Phillips Lifeline has good news for seniors and all of us boomers who are caring for the elderly parents in our family. They recently announced that they have a new addition to their emergency medical alert systems for the elderly.
As with most medical alert service companies, Phillips offers medical alert jewelry such as pendants that can be worn as a necklace or you can choose a wrist watch if your prefer. Both of these have a button for your senior parent to push if they trip and fall or have other problems they need emergency assistance with. As I’ve written in a previous article, Elderly Aids Like a Cell Phone or Medical Alert Systems Mean Our Senior Parents May Never Be Really Alone, our family has been blessed by these type of medical alert devices on more than one occasion and I can’t recommend them highly enough. One of my elderly relatives uses Phillips Lifeline and loves it. And I appreciate that they have such an excellent rating with the Better Business Bureau, as does another of my favorite medical alert systems for senior citizens, Lively by GreatCall.
Now Phillips and GreatCall are also offering medical alert devices with what they call AutoAlert and/or fall alert. This new auto alert option is often, though not always, able to automatically call for help if a fall is detected. They do still recommend that if or your elderly parent falls and is able to, that the button be pushed. But for cases where the senior is unconscious or unable to move, the auto alert can usually detect the fall and call for help automatically. I know 100% would be preferable but anything is definitely better than nothing. If a beloved senior friend had been wearing one of these medical alert systems with auto fall detection when she had a stroke alone in her bathroom, she might still be with us today.
I have shared with my long distance seniors about these new options. I know the one who is already wearing one of the Phillips medical alert devices (it’s one of the pendants) switched to the fall alert and has found it works great. And one of my long distance seniors got the GreatCall Lively and loves it! If you are caring for elderly parents who live alone or are home alone for a long portion of the day and would like more information, just click here or here. 🙂
Kaye
Updated 2018
