Family caregivers often provide the link for senior citizens to live at home as their health declines. Home medical alarms help the caregiver to maintain a safety net around their loved one. Often, home medical alarms are indispensable to an aging senior’s independence especially when they are a fall risk or suffer from daily confusion or memory loss. Here are ten tips to help you understand when a medical alarm is appropriate to your situation.

1. Stay off the ground
A fall is the critical incident which often begins the decline of an elder’s independence. More than 30% of people over 65 years fall annually. The time spent on the ground may determine the severity of the fall’s effects. A Personal Emergency Response Service (PERS), or help button, greatly reduces the time spent waiting for someone to come and help you.

2. Peace of mind reduces stress and anxiety
Caregivers suffer higher rates of depression and anxiety than the general population. A help button or medication dispenser provides peace of mind and reassurance to counter those emotional states. Caregivers know that when a help button is installed in a loved one’s home they can be contacted within minutes of it being activated.

3. Have your support information reviewed several times a year
A help button system works best if the responder information is current. Ask your provider how often your response information is updated. Better yet, can you review this data online?

4. Digital phone warning
Personal Emergency Response Services are not yet compatible with digital phone systems, also called Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP). If you or your loved one have phone service through a cable TV provider or as a bundled service – usually voice/data/cable tv – you will need to check with your help button provider to see if an adapter is needed for your service to operate reliably.

5. Caregivers don’t need to sleep with one eye open
The stress from not having a restful night’s sleep increases the intensity of caring for a dementia sufferer. Caregivers ‘sleep with one eye open’ in case the dementia sufferer wanders, which is more likely to happen overnight. A wander alarm can alert the caregiver that their loved one is leaving a room or opening a door. These alarms are set to alert caregivers if an outside door is opened or if a pressure-sensitive floor pad is stepped on.

6. Get help to reduce medication confusion
Some seniors take an average of 32 different medications daily. Anyone would have difficulty managing that much medication! Confusion and poor memory make the task far more challenging and often lead to medication errors. Many seniors lose their independence by not accurately following their medication regimen. When confusion and/or memory issues contribute to medication non-compliance, an automated medication dispenser will help to keep elders independent. These devices secure the medications internally and deliver the right dose at the right time.

7. When repeating instructions doesn’t work; you need something extra
Plastic medication organizers don’t protect a disoriented elder from medication non-compliance. A quality automated med dispenser has a secure lock that keeps the med doses tamper-free and a battery backup keeps the dispenser working during power outages. The latest medication dispensers utilize active communication features like text messaging and email to alert family members that the senior needs to be contacted about their medication.

8. Online alerts can help caregivers share their responsibilities
The Internet is changing home care. Medical alarms now report their activity on password-protected web sites. You can receive alerts via email, text messages and phone calls. Caregivers can also receive secure online reports from their loved ones’ home medical alarms. Family members can see if Mom needs reminders to take her medication or if Dad needed the neighbor to help him up, along with a variety of system reports that let you know of any potential problems, such as a power loss or disconnected phone line.

9. When you’re not saved by the bell
Moving quickly to reach a ringing phone can cause an elder to fall. A help button can be used to answer the telephone – without moving from the bed or couch. It works this way: the button is pushed to answer the call. The caller is greeted and a conversation is started by speaking through the speakerphone/base unit, which picks up sound around the home. Then the elder can stand up to get to the phone, slowly and carefully, before hanging up the base unit by again pushing the help button. No sudden movements. No increased falling risk.

10. Are you losing, or keeping, your independence?
Elders may argue that they don’t need a home medical alarm. They are often afraid that it means they are losing their independence. The truth is that these alarms assist elders in retaining their independence just like using a walker, extended toilet seat, shower bars and other home medical equipment maintain independence, instead of diminishing it.

The tools of home care are no longer limited to the caring nurse or home health aide. Those strong components have been strengthened even more with devices that communicate a variety of needs. Home medical alarms are the important tools that assist the caregivers to keep their loved ones in their home.

©SafeCall 2009