We used LifeAlert with my Grandmother and it was great. She wore it as a wristband, and had a base station / speaker thing that sat on the kitchen counter. If she pressed the button, an operator was immediately on the line through the base station to ask, "Ruth, is everything OK?" She could answer back and let them know what was going on, then they would call one of us, EMS, or both based on the circumstances. The operators were great, and would even chat with her for a few if she set it off accidentally. And accidents did happen often, as her little dog would push the button! Most of the time, an operator would answer with, "Ruth, did Foxy press that button again?" And they would all get a good laugh :)

Thank you, Maire, for that info, it's great! I've printed it out and am using it to evaluate the companies.

Errant: I'd forgotten about Life Alert, but have printed out that info to give to Phyllis. Thank you! I like that they actually talk with the person. If I was 89 years old, living alone and hurt myself, it would be a good thing to be talking to someone until help arrived.

Before Maire posted and gave me this great info, I'd already called the Bay Medical Alarm people. Nice folks, but they actually would charge Phyllis $100 just for UPS to send her equipment with 2-3 days shipping! That does not include the equipment itself or the monthly service charge! Regular shipping time is 5-13 business days. I ruled them out quickly as, IMO, that is just taking terrible advantage of people who want/need it quicker. I won't do business with companies like that.

The second company I called, Medical Guardian, were very nice, once I actually got through to a real person. Their quick S&H is only $18-$20. I printed out their info to give to Phyllis, too.

Again, thanks for the info. We'll take good care of Phyllis and make sure she gets the best care available.

When we were in California, the local hospital auxiliary would handle the ordering and installation of the LifeLine (Philips) system. Several of my elderly clients used it. The calls are answered by a national network, and the people who handle that are indeed wonderful, like Errant mentioned. The bill was paid to the hospital monthly, and there was a low-income discount. So you may want to check with your local hospitals to see if they do the same. No hard sell, not $100 shipping (horrid), no set-up fees or contracts, just the monthly charge.

Philips Lifeline

My father paid $30 per month. Additionally, he had a lock box on the front door.

After he passed, we had to ship the equipment back.

Marie's post is very good!

My dad had it included with the apartment he lived in the last couple of years, but he wouldn't wear it and I couldn't get him to consider it when he was living along in the house. The fact that she wants it is a big plus. I would check locally -- I would expect them to be locally monitored and the quality of that could vary.

We also had Lifeline for my father and it initially came from one of our local hospitals. He had it for over 13 years and never needed it for a fall or illnes but did set it off by accident a few times. We had to give them 2 or 3 names to be called as the first response but if no one was available they called an ambulance and it all happened very quickly. He had to push the button though for it to be activated so it did not have fall activation and he wore it on his wrist. They may have more services at this time however.

There was only one time where there needed to be a response from police, ambulance etc. and he was in his garden and did not even realize he has pushed it. The charge was 35.00 a month and it did give us great piece of mind. Good luck with your search.

Just a quick update, I printed everything out for Phyllis, including information I found on these companies websites. Thank you again, Maire, for the list of pertinent criteria to consider. Phyllis came to DH's clinic on Monday morning, and talked over everything with DH and his office manager. She decided to sign up with Life Alert. She wanted to start up as soon as possible, now that she's living alone since her sister died. And so, they helped her sign up for it right there in the clinic, since at 89 y/o, she's not very internet savvy.

That's wonderful that you and your husband were able to help her out. I'm having trouble imagining myself at 89 and still living alone. God bless her!

Maire