I agree with earlier poster :Stay away from any product that is under the umbrella of Connect America. I used Medical Alert - one of their products - they own many, approximately 10 products- including Guardian on call for ex- tried both the mobile & in- home unit - not only do they not perform as advertised ( not able to communicate into mobile - so they can not talk to you nor you to them -so not able to determine if there is really a problem or if you're just testing, so for ex, they call emergency #s just for the test-those of you who pay for EMS coming should beware-when I complained about this they say it's because dispatchers are doing job extra well-hard to imagine a more pathetic answer). the in home stationary unit can't pick up a voice in the next room, despite claims that they can do that within 100 feet - there's incompetence on every level- and I figured out how to reach executive office -basic and essential info which i repeatedly provided even to higher ups was repeatedly recorded Incorrectly (existence & location of lock box, phone numbers, protocol of who should be called in what order, preferred hospital, the list goes on) and whenever a mistake was pointed out they attribute to customer instructions as excuse. They went so far as to send a tech to the home but failed to tell tech which system we were using - turns out tech had never seen it before. Amazing they're still in business. Plus if one pays over phone with cc when you get device the " contract" tries to make you sign off on allowing them to directly extract $ from your cc or checking acct- no alternative is offerred- they never disclose that they are keeping your credit card on file when you call - VERY sneaky. I should have listened to my intuition - when shopping around I was asked what other companies I was looking at & they trashed them with inaccurate info - which wa offensive. Someone I know used them so I let that trump my better judgement but I'm warning all of you -stay away. Would also like to know if DS Smallwood got the touch & talk unit...does no further info indicate a problem with that product?

We got one of those for my MIL about 5 or 6 years ago. She started talking about them after my SIL had a stroke and laid on the floor for 8 hours until her DH came home from work. As a result of that stroke she has been in a nursing home and cannot move the right side of her body. Now if she had one of these maybe things would be different, but, she was only in her sixties and in good health didn't think she needed one. So, we got it for my MIL as a birthday gift (it sure makes it easy every year as to what we are going to get her besides sending her flowers) and she just loves it. She and we have piece of mind. We live a little more than hour away so it will take time for us to react in an emergency. It not only works in the house, but, we went outside in the yard and it worked as far as across the street into her neighbors drive way. So this way if she is outside near the house all she has to do is push the button if she needs help. The company is US and their operators are all US based. We did everything online with them including paying them every year. I would highly recommend them. The name of the company is Alert One http://www.alert-1.com/ Here is a link that might be useful: Alert One

Hi Natacha, I am interested that your heading does not allow for us to go to your page to learn about you, as is usual here. As for helping improve the quality of life of my parents, they left this dimension of living in 1942 and 1986, so it gets a bit difficult for folks here to influence that much now, directly. Some say that our prayers can influence their lifestyle in the situation which they inhabit currently, others doubt that possibility. The major medical alert system for emergencies in use here is based in a local residential and medical complex mainly for long-term care folks and seniors. I do not remember its name. I referred in an earlier post on this thread how it works. The person for whom there is some concern wears a necklace or wristband with a push-button which can be pushed in case of trouble, to have their telephone ring the phone at a care centre which is staffed 24 hours, 365 days. The staff have a list of several numbers to call when such a phone call comes in. It is possible to choose a service where the person at the care centre can speak to the person of concern, I understand, which allows for more flexibility. The wearer sends a message once per month at a pre-selected time, to test the system. One of the major problems is that the button may be pushed inadvertently, which gets the caregiver(s) upset ... and she or he hastens to the home of the person of concern, to be greeted on arrival with surprise: everything is O.K. - whatès all the fuss about (my new keyboard does not do question marks ... or apostrophes or quotation marks, either). Each of the folks who are on call needs to have a key (or know where to find a hidden one near the subjectès home ... or expect some broken windows or doors!). It cost about $30.00 to set up, plus about $30.00 monthly for service, about four or five years ago. The base unit at the phone and the push-button are on loan, to be returned at theend of the contract period. ole joyful

Beyond the alert thing since he is having these episodes it is time to start looking at alternative housing. No one likes to do it but when you are not in the immediate need it will allow you to see what is available and at what price range and types of care to make the best decision for the both of you. One thing that I was not aware of when I was looking at assisted living for my husband was there are weight and aid restrictions with assisted living. In this state and it is probably national if someone needs two people to assist siting and standing they are not eligible for assisted living. I think over 200 or 250 was the cutoff. Then there is the insurance thing. If it is an emergency placement for extended medical care some nursing homes will not accept all forms of health insurance for that period. This will vary from year to year so learn how to check the website of his insurance for the current information. If you have a POA, which you need, you have the legal right to sign on as if you are him. Your local office on aging can help with all kinds of information including what is needed if your father does not have enough resources to provide for his own care. Go to the initial postings from several years ago and start reading the comments if you have time. They can provide some excellent suggestions both on things to do and things to watch for in his day to day activities which will provide incites on how he is feeling beyond what he tells you.