Fallen, and can't get up?

[braumeister]

Many of us have parents we worry about, so gadgets that let us keep aware of their condition can be very useful.

Another attractive new option was just introduced at the CES this year: Great Call Lively Wearable. If my mom were still alive, I would seriously consider getting this for her.

Designed to help both seniors and their families, the Lively combines Fitbit-like fitness tracking with an always-on emergency service. Worn on the wrist or as a necklace, it pairs with a smartphone to gauge and report activity. A companion app offers daily challenges and virtual rewards for goals, and shares updates with family members. With a press of Lively’s emergency button, a service called 5Star responds. The device can also make a call if it senses a fall. The waterproof Lively lasts up to six months on a charge. Arriving in the spring, it will cost $100 ($50 if preordered this month), plus $15 a month for emergency service.

https://www.greatcall.com/phones-devices/lively-wearable-senior-activity-tracker

 

[W2R]

I would hate this feature:

"The device can also make a call if it senses a fall."

Falls can be very dangerous. But hasn't anyone ever fallen, caught themselves, and not gotten hurt? I would be so embarrassed if emergency personnel showed up after every minor fall like that.

I wonder if this is a solution to a non-existent problem. Why not just wear one of those MedicAlert pendants in the "I've fallen and I can't get up" commercials? Then you can choose when to call emergency personnel, and when not to.

 

[ShortInSeattle]

I would hate this feature:

"The device can also make a call if it senses a fall."

Falls can be very dangerous. But hasn't anyone ever fallen, caught themselves, and not gotten hurt? I would be so embarrassed if emergency personnel showed up after every minor fall like that.

I wonder if this is a solution to a non-existent problem. Why not just wear one of those MedicAlert pendants in the "I've fallen and I can't get up" commercials? Then you can choose when to call emergency personnel, and when not to.

We considered such a device for my FIL who has had a few falls due to vertigo. After we talked it over we all agreed it was no more useful than a cell phone. He always keeps his cell phone clipped to his belt, or within reach when he's in the shower.

 

[rodi]

My stepmom had a pendant emergency "i've fallen and can't get up" thing. Unfortunately, she wasn't wearing it when she fell and broke her hip. But her daughter was visiting her, helping her pay bills, etc... but she was in another part of the house. It was a full hour before she noticed her mom wasn't around.

3 years later she moved to an independent apartment in an assisted living community. There are some emergency pull strings in key places (shower/bathroom, next to the bed.) But they also advised her to get a cordless phone with extra extensions - and leave the extensions at ground level... so you can crawl over to call 911 (or in her case - take it off the hook - which will trigger a "check" on her.

There's no perfect solution.

 

[Dash man]

We've tried getting my in laws to use smart phones...it'll never happen. They'll only use a flip style cell phone and won't try anything with an app.


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[JoeWras]

Tried phones, pendants, call backs device with my Dad.

Each time he said: "This is great, thank you, I need this."

After a day, he stopped using them, forgot he had them or didn't recall how to use them (the "Senior Jitterbug Phone").

Just useless.

 

[O2Bfree]

My mom tried Mobile Help's Fall Button, which is an emergency pendant designed to detect falls. It went off several times when she hadn't fallen, only moved in such a way that the pendant shifted quickly. Fortunately, the pendant beeps to tell you it detected a fall, and you can cancel the emergency call by pressing the button in a certain way. Problem with her was she couldn't always hear the beeps.

 

[Alan]

I would hate this feature:

"The device can also make a call if it senses a fall."

Falls can be very dangerous. But hasn't anyone ever fallen, caught themselves, and not gotten hurt? I would be so embarrassed if emergency personnel showed up after every minor fall like that.

I wonder if this is a solution to a non-existent problem. Why not just wear one of those MedicAlert pendants in the "I've fallen and I can't get up" commercials? Then you can choose when to call emergency personnel, and when not to.

My aunt had a fall device she wore in the house but the first thing the monitoring service did when a fall was detected was to call her to check if everything was okay. There was a loud speaker that could be heard anywhere in her small house and the device she wore also had a mic so it was very easy to answer. To make a call she would press a button to call and then speak to someone, and was encouraged to do this at least once a day.

 

[Moemg]

Many of us have parents we worry about, so gadgets that let us keep aware of their condition can be very useful.

Another attractive new option was just introduced at the CES this year: Great Call Lively Wearable. If my mom were still alive, I would seriously consider getting this for her.

https://www.greatcall.com/phones-devices/lively-wearable-senior-activity-tracker

I really like the features of this especially that it is waterproof . My Mom took off her Medi alert to shower and then fell so it was useless . I also like that we can also tract her mobility . My Mom is 99 & fudges her activity so we will not worry .

 

[Texas Proud]

Tried phones, pendants, call backs device with my Dad.

Each time he said: "This is great, thank you, I need this."

After a day, he stopped using them, forgot he had them or didn't recall how to use them (the "Senior Jitterbug Phone").

Just useless.

+1 on this.... I thought my mom was using her cell phone (this was 5 years ago) and I come to find out she had not used it for 2 years.... not even charged it up.... lost over $150 in prepaid phone service...

A smart phone is out of the question.... would not know how to use it and if taught would forget it soon there after....


Some phone salesman convinced her she needed one of those buttons... got a debit card number out of her... (did not know she had a debit card)... they wanted $35 per month.... their phone to talk about anything went to a full voice mail box.... I still have their equipment as they do not want to refund my mother's money....


There is no solution for all....

 

[meierlde]

If folks use a cell phone it turns out there are wristwatch cellphones that take a sim card, so they are full function cell phones. which sounds like a better solution than the button things.

 

[38Chevy454]

Fallen, and can't get up?

....oh I thought this was about the stock market performance

 

[meleana]

For those with an Amazon Echo there is a feature that you can enable on "Ask My Buddy" where if you fall or have some other issue you can ask Alexa (the Echo device) to contact someone you have put on the list of emergency contacts or even everybody on the list. It then sends either an email or a text message out alerting them that there is a situation in your house.

There is a remote also that you can use if, let's say, the Echo is downstairs and you are upstairs.

 

[Texas Proud]

For those with an Amazon Echo there is a feature that you can enable on "Ask My Buddy" where if you fall or have some other issue you can ask Alexa (the Echo device) to contact someone you have put on the list of emergency contacts or even everybody on the list. It then sends either an email or a text message out alerting them that there is a situation in your house.

There is a remote also that you can use if, let's say, the Echo is downstairs and you are upstairs.

A good option.... but does not take into account if the person that fell is not conscious...

 

[folivier]

All of these devices are great if the person using them have good mobility. But my wife's 94 YO aunt recently fell and wasn't strong enough to activate her medallion since it was under her and she couldn't roll over. It took a few hours before she could activate it.
So what is the solution for someone like her? Sitters? She is a very private person who will never leave her home and won't have sitters in her house because "all they do is sit around all day...."

 

[meleana]

A good option.... but does not take into account if the person that fell is not conscious...

Well, of course not, but neither do the other devices. You have to be conscious and have use of your arms/hands to even press a button or dial a phone.

 

[Coolius]

I clicked on this thread, thinking it was about the DOW and S&P, and find out its about practical, logical and useful information that can improve one's quality of life.

 

[meleana]

All of these devices are great if the person using them have good mobility. But my wife's 94 YO aunt recently fell and wasn't strong enough to activate her medallion since it was under her and she couldn't roll over. It took a few hours before she could activate it.
So what is the solution for someone like her? Sitters? She is a very private person who will never leave her home and won't have sitters in her house because "all they do is sit around all day...."

I think there has to be at the very least an aide that checks in with her at least a few days per week. My mom didn't like it either but she accepted it as the aide took her to the supermarket and MD appts.- she drove my mothers car as the agency would not allow her to put my mother in the aide's car.

In my mom's situation, she was home alone- she did have the aide a few hours a couple of days per week and a woman who came in every so often to do her hair. My brother and I called her daily- we did not live nearby. We also had meals on wheels going in as she wasn't cooking or eating much, (She didn't eat those meals, either, but we figured at least they were stopping by)

One day my brother called me and said she didn't answer the phone. He thought it was odd as she always did, especially that time of day. I called also- no answer. My husband worked in the same county and luckily I was able to just get him before he left to drive home and asked him to drive down to her house to check.

Sure enough, he found her on the floor. And, not soon afterwards the hairdresser showed up at the house. She, too, had tried to call her and didn't get an answer and knowing her situation became concerned and drove to the house to check on her, which was very nice of her.

I took this as a sign that it was time to look for a facility for her. She had terminal cancer and dementia. Within a month we put her in an assisted living facility, using her savings to pay for it. She died 3 months later from the cancer. We had Hospice in with her at the facility. 2 months after that we sold her house and disposed of all it's contents. It was a hell of a year.

 

[meierlde]

What is needed is an unusual pattern detector in these cases. Say for example you put motion detectors in the bathrooms and no bathroom is used in say 8 hours, that would be an unusual pattern and could result in a call for help. Basically the idea is to have the system learn the usual patterns of the person, and only put alerts out when there is a significant deviation from the usual pattern. This way its much less a violation of privacy since usual activity patterns don't result in alerts.
There is a company called alarm.com that seems to have pieces of this idea.

 

[folivier]

Good idea meierlde. There should be technology out there now that could do this.
In my above instance my wife and her sister check on her every couple days. Also her nephew lives next door and checks on her also.

 

[meierlde]

Good idea meierlde. There should be technology out there now that could do this.
In my above instance my wife and her sister check on her every couple days. Also her nephew lives next door and checks on her also.

Actually you could do it with a Raspberry Pi which has a motion sensor device (the computer runs about $100 full equiped). Essentially the motion detector would reset a timer every time motion was detected. The systems can be networked with wifi. The motion detector looks for a heat source and sends a signal to the computer when a heat source is found.
I am really suprised no alarm company which has all the tech has yet put this together. Alarm.com has pieces of the tech, such as motion detectors, bed sensors etc.
In the full idea you would monitor activity in the kitchen such that if no one entered there for say a day (a changeable time limit) an alarm as well as the bathrooms. It is is likley that the Japanese may have such tech but it has not made it here yet since they have a bigger problem with older folks.

 

[Texas Proud]

Well, of course not, but neither do the other devices. You have to be conscious and have use of your arms/hands to even press a button or dial a phone.

No, the one mentioned would sense a fall and do something.... what people responded to was if it would do something when it should not...

This seems like the best option, but IIRC it was connected to a smart phone... since mom would never know how to use one it is not for her... if there was one that would work with normal phone or some other device then it might be good for her...

Another problem we have with my mom is that sometimes she fails to hang up the phone... I have had to go to her place and hang up two handsets that had been on for 8 hours.... so the device would need to be able to handle that situation also....

 

[meierlde]

No, the one mentioned would sense a fall and do something.... what people responded to was if it would do something when it should not...

This seems like the best option, but IIRC it was connected to a smart phone... since mom would never know how to use one it is not for her... if there was one that would work with normal phone or some other device then it might be good for her...

Another problem we have with my mom is that sometimes she fails to hang up the phone... I have had to go to her place and hang up two handsets that had been on for 8 hours.... so the device would need to be able to handle that situation also....

It looks like at least one device includes a cellphone (greatcall splash). Since cell phones now fit on wrist watches it would be no problem to put the guts of one in a pendant, thus eliminating the need for any real cell phone or land line. Now if the device includes an accelerometer and a gps accurate down to the foot level, it could alarm if the device while being worn does not move more that x feet in y hours.

 

[M Paquette]

It looks like at least one device includes a cellphone (greatcall splash). Since cell phones now fit on wrist watches it would be no problem to put the guts of one in a pendant, thus eliminating the need for any real cell phone or land line. Now if the device includes an accelerometer and a gps accurate down to the foot level, it could alarm if the device while being worn does not move more that x feet in y hours.

This is an accurate description of the Phillips medical alert device we set up our MIL with. It will alert the call center on any fall, in or out of the house, provide GPS location, and the monitoring service will try to contact her through the built in speaker and microphone. This particular device uses the ATT network outside the home and WiFi in the home.


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[Tadpole]

Perhaps Amazon could develop a wearable app for falling or remaining motionless for an hour that communicates with Echo. They seem to be jumping on board the "subscription" bandwagon already.