I have recently tripped and fell at home, though luckily there were no injuries. But after it happened again, while walking through a parking lot and actually hurting myself, I realized that it’s time to start wearing a device to signal in case of an emergency. My loved ones were also concerned about my safety and were urging me to get one of the medical alert devices.
I bought a V.ALRT 400 emergency button for $30 from Amazon. Its has a software version HMHR00.01 and comes with an Android app, version 1.3.5-8b0a4ff8. After pairing it with my cell phone I could press a button to initiate a phone call or an SMS, to as many as three numbers from my contacts.
Unfortunately, this device is unstable: the Bluetooth connection with the phone is frequently lost. Several times the device went off by itself and initiated multiple calls and messages. It did not produce the sound I expected when activating a search for it from my phone. All things considered, the device was too unreliable and I stopped using it.
After this experience, I realized that I can’t rely on such a simplistic and unfinished product for such an important function. What if I am far from my phone and can’t pick up a call, or my contact is busy and does not accept the call or read the SMS. I started to look for a substantial product that comes with a service subscription. Not cheap, but in case of an emergency I wanted to be connected and talk to a person at the press of a button.
The number of offerings for the Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS) is overwhelming. According to Reuters, global market for PERS was $5.6 billion in 2015 and expected to reach $8.61 billion by 2022, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.35%. Reviewing the services offered in my area, comparing prices and reading customers reviews taught me to pay attention to activation and cancelation fees, required contract, availability of customer service 24/7, device protection plan, fall detection features, GPS, landline vs. cell phone connection.
Looking for a quality device with a reliable customer service, I looked for recommendations from AARP, Consumer Reports, industry analysts and device comparisons. It turns out that some Medicare Advantage Plans (Medicare Part C) may cover PERS, including devices from four providers: LifeLine, Bay Alarm Medical, Mobil Help, LifeStation. Further, my Kaiser Permanente Advantage Plan teamed up with LifeStation to provide special offers for Kaiser Permanente members.
Such a strong recommendation prompted me to take a closer look at the company’s history and products. LifeStation is well-established and has been a reputable provider of medical alert systems for over 40 years. It sells directly to the elderly or to individuals equipping their parents. LifeStation also distributes through partnerships with healthcare providers, local government agencies and hospitals.
Their newest pendant product, Mobile GPS Premium (with WiFi) became my choice. The device and service are $29 per month (after a 25% discount through Kaiser). Device protection and automatic fall detection alerts are available for additional charge of $5.00 and $7.00 per month, respectively. There are no separate charges for the equipment, no initiation or cancelation fees, or a long-term contract and new customers have a 30-day money back guarantee.
The device costs $175 if I lose or damage it, so I added the protection plan, which can be canceled later. The Fall Detection technology is recent and may not detect every type of a fall, so I decided to wait and perhans add it later. This feature is particularly important for patients who suffer from epilepsy, seizures or fainting episodes, and are unable to press the help button.
Device description:
• Premium mobile GPS alert pendant comes with speaker and microphone built right into the device.
• Device can be used both in and out the home and there are no range restrictions. An emergency call connection can be made anywhere nationwide, if a good cellular phone connection can be established.
• Agent can use the transmitted GPS & WiFi information (WPS) to determine user’s location and send help. This is an upgrade over systems with just GPS tracking alone. The Wi-Fi positioning system (WPS) provides added data that enables monitoring specialists to even more accurately determine the location of the system user.
• Works with Amazon Alexa.
• Mobile GPS systems are waterproof.
• Fall detection feature can be added at additional charge. It can detect if the senior has fallen and then place an alarm call automatically.
• Caregiver Alerts system will send email alerts to people on the user’s emergency contact list when the user presses the button.
• LifeStation’s feature “Find My Loved One” allows user’s emergency contacts to send text message to an exclusive number that is linked to their loved one’s system. Caregiver Alert System will send back a text message with user’s location.
Customer Service description:
• LifeStation operates its own 24/7 monitoring center in-house in the US. The center adheres to both UL Listed and TMA (formerly CSAA) Five Diamond standards.
• LifeStation advises users to make monthly test calls by pressing their button.
• Email contacts can be added when setting up the user’s emergency contacts list, or anytime by calling LifeStation’s customer support. There is no additional cost for this service.
• The Caregiver Alerts feature is a supplement to LifeStation’s emergencies monitoring service. It does not replace the standard procedure to call on emergency contacts by phone and comes without additional charge.
I pressed the button to test my emergency system and the LifeStation’s support responded immediately. I told him that I am OK and was testing my new mobile GPS device. At the same time my emergency contact received the following email:
Subject: Acct# - Zone MA1 PERSONAL EMERGENCY (A)
Received Zone MA1 PERSONAL EMERGENCY (A) (-Event ID: 5cdeffc0e0d11 Listen-In Pending) on 05/17/2019 at 11:38 for
I also confirmed that when my emergency contact texted Find to an assigned number and they received a text message with my position and a link to Google Maps showing the location. So far, I am happy with my choice of this button.
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