Falling down is a major cause of health challenges for older Americans.

Statistics show that a quarter of all Americans over the age of 65 will take a serious fall this year. This means that every eleven seconds an older American is treated at an emergency room for a fall related injury. And, most grim of all, an older adult dies every twenty minutes from injuries sustained in a fall. It is estimated that the national medical costs associated with injuries from accidental falls could reach over $67 billion by the year 2020.

But with today’s modern technological advances, fall detection devices are convenient, lightweight, and very reliable, making it much safer for the elderly to live on their own and still be able to be in touch with medical emergency personnel when they experience a fall.

The modern medical alert system

There are any number of medical alert system products available nowadays for those who would have trouble getting to a phone if they needed immediate help. They might suffer from a disability, be limited in their mobility, or concerned about balance issues and what would happen if they experienced a fall in a room without a telephone. So medic alert systems were designed specifically for people who may not have the means to summon help when they experience a fall or some other medical emergency.

Providers of medic alert systems function as guardians of a person’s well being, and are able to notify emergency services on their behalf immediately after being notified of a problem. As an example of what they do, if someone should have to be transported by ambulance to a hospital the medic alert service will notify specified family and friends so they can be at the hospital on arrival. The best services are on call 24/7 all year round, of course. They can be reached within less than a minute after contact protocol is initiated. For more information about medical alert systems click here.

How it all comes together

The most efficient and high tech fall alert systems work with a push button pendant that is worn around the neck. This pendant is hooked up with the home phone, so that when an incident occurs, the victim simply pushes the button and the emergency service is immediately notified by phone. They will first attempt to contact the victim, and then if they are unable to do so they will contact the nearest emergency service to send paramedics to check up on the person who has pressed the button.

Of course, nowadays many people, including senior citizens, no longer have a landline but use a cell phone, and this actually is an even better arrangement for medic alert systems because in most cases it means a person who uses the pendant push button can now take that pendant with them outside of the house on their travels, and still rely on it to work if for instance they happen to experience a fall in a park, at a friend’s house, or in a shopping mall.

But consumers should realize that those services that offer this traveling benefit are apt to charge a higher monthly fee.

All in all, modern technology has made it easy for older people to continue to live on their own without paralyzing fear of falling down and being helpless for several hours or even days. With the push button pendant technology, help is only a quick press away!

Photo by aswinchell