What to do when Phillips LifeLine and Life Alert aren’t right?

Scott wrote asking about a medical alert system for his dad.

He wrote: We want a pendant that senses a fall and is capable of being the communication device! He does have some falls and is quite active outside the house so also a good range from the base!

Scott had previously looked at Phillips LifeLine and Life Alert, but neither were meeting his needs.

My response:

Hi, Scott–

You’re right that LifeLine isn’t going to be great in your dad’s situation. The fall detection is there, but the outdated base station speakerphone won’t really help if he falls when he’s outside. Okay, it’ll help if he needs an ambulance, because that’s what they’ll send, but not if he just needs the neighbor to come give him a hand up.

LifeAlert isn’t any better, and they don’t have fall detection.

I just did a quick search to see if anyone’s come out with a mobile/GPS unit that does fall detection, and it doesn’t look like anyone’s got a solid offering, though new products do seem to be coming on the market that are getting closer.

For now the two best options I can think of are the Medipendant (https://findtherightalert.com/all-about-the-medipendant) and the GreatCall 5Star Responder (https://findtherightalert.com/the-5star-responder-personal-gps-device).

Neither have fall detection. I know I’m making assumptions about your dad’s situation, but I wonder if it’s fairly unlikely that he’ll fall and not be able to press the button (ie., be knocked unconscious). And I have heard reports of false alarms with the Phillips fall detection technology.

The medipendant has the talk-through-pendant and has plenty of range to work out in the yard. The 5Star is actually cheaper and works anywhere you have a cell signal, but it requires recharging regularly.

Take a look at those two items and see if one of them fits. Unfortunately there’s nothing that is perfect for your situation.

Hope that helps and let me know if you have more questions.