check with the local hospital. One of ours has a Senior Medical Alert system that connects the person directly to a special switchboard at the hospital. The hospital then, if possible, asks questions and notifies the police and the family or sends an ambulance and EMT team if needed.

I'll second Agnespufifn's recommendation. The systems offered by the hospitals (usually installed by the auxiliary guild and billed by them) are actually monitored by a national group. You designate who you wish to be notified, and the people at the call center are wonderful at encouraging the user to call just to check in, even daily.

I prefer this to other systems for a few reasons. One other (cheap) system does nothing but auto-dial 911, some systems are connected to alarm companies that want to sell you home alarm systems if you aren't already a customer. I find that most seniors are happy to know that their system is connected with the local hospital, it makes it all feel more local and friendly. And you already have the hospital running interference if anything goes wrong with the equipment.

You stated that your in Ca. Do your parents live in Ca. too?
Do you see them often and know what their conditions are? This system would not have worked for my dad because he didn't want to have the EMT's out or have to ride in an ambulance.
One time when he was have a bad reaction to some pain medicine all he wanted to do was go back to bed and I had to argue with him to go to the hospital to let them see what was going on and he refused so I dialed 911 and they took him to the hospital. Well, the next time he was sick and I told him he needed to go he went, BUT he would not even call me cause he didn't want to bother me.
Something that anyone can tell you is that family members don't what is going on sometimes. If you see them often it just slips away from you, don't notice, to busy and on the go, over loaded with caring for your family and parents too.

Thanks everyone, my parents live about a 10 minute drive away, luckily, close enough to help! My dad fell a couple times recently - both when my mom was out and then in the middle of the night. An alert system would have summoned help both those times (my mom didn't want to call us in the middle of the night to help my dad, but she's too small to help him up herself.) I like the local hospital idea, I went to their website and they had lots of info and more senior resource then I thought!

It is good that you live so close, it makes it easier to watch and care for them.
Parents don't want to feel like a burden and no matter how many times I told my dad he wasn't a burden he still would not call when he should have.
Hope the alert system works out for them. I know it would make you feel better but don't rely on it 100% cause other things can come up.
My aunt has MS and on top of aging her mind wasn't thinking clear as normal but one day my cousin called his brother whom lived about 5 minutes from her to check on their mom cause she didn't answer the phone going on two days. Well, when my cousin walked in he found her in her winter coat with nothing underneath and she was pushing the garage door button thinking it was for something else and didn't understand why it wasn't working. She had to be placed in an asisted living.

Barb