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Homecare.com > Comfort & Safety > Personal Emergency Response Systems

Personal Emergency Response Systems

What it is

Personal emergency response systems (PERS) give older adults and other at-risk individuals around-the-clock access to assistance at the press of a button. If your older family member or friend lives alone, PERS enable continued independence and at the same time allows both of you to feel secure in knowing that in case of a fall or accident, emergency assistance can be easily summoned. You'll find PERS in the yellow pages under "Medical Alarms," or use the Internet and search the keywords Personal Emergency Response Systems. Many hospitals and home health care agencies also offer these systems.

 

How it works

A PERS user wears a wristband or pendant with a button to push in an emergency. This sends a signal to the company’s call center, alerting a responder that assistance is needed. The responder then calls the user’s phone and, using a speaker device, asks if the user needs help and, if so, who should be called. If there’s no answer, the responder calls 911.
 
The emergency operator has pre-programmed information on each user, including location, medical history, prescribed medications, preferred hospital and contacts (family, neighbors, doctors). If the user is able to talk with the operator, he/she can direct the operator to call contacts (adult child, neighbor, friend) who can come over immediately. However, if the operator is unable to make voice contact or thinks the situation requires medical help, emergency personnel are contacted right away.  
 
Most PERS plans charge a monthly fee ranging from $30 to $70, depending on the options selected.
 

Top 10 questions to ask a prospective PERS company

  1. How long have you been in business? Would I be able to speak with a few customers? 
  2. What is your average response time? 
  3. What kind of training does your response staff receive? 
  4. Is there a trial period or a minimum contract period for the service? 
  5. Are there any advance notices or de-activation fees if I’m not satisfied with the service?
  6. What kind of range will the user have with the system? How far in the yard? As far as the mailbox? What about the basement?
    If you decide to try a system, be sure to test it to confirm its range throughout the house and how far you can use it outdoors, such as to the mailbox. 
  7. What formal relationships do you have with local emergency response services? 
  8. If the operator calls a non-emergency contact (a family member, for instance), how long does he/she wait for a response? 
  9. Does the operator maintain contact with the user until someone arrives? 
  10. If English is a second language for you or the user, be sure to ask whether the company has an interpreter on staff.
 

New automatic alert systems

As the market for PERS has grown, new technologies have been developed that can detect the trajectory of a fall, which automatically triggers a call to the company's call center, rather than requiring the user to push the button on the wristband or pendant. This is especially helpful if an individual has been knocked unconscious due to the fall or has had a stroke. The market is constantly evolving, but as of 2011, here are two such PERS products available:
 
  1. Halo Monitoring - Automatic Fall Detection: myHalo
    The user wears a small chest strap (it looks like a belt) that is concealed under clothing or a belt clip. This strap contains sensors that measure acceleration, trajectory and changes of movement that could signal a fall, and then automatically activates the system to summon help. The chest strap has the added feature of measuring heart rate. The company also offers an enhanced service that provides a secure website for family members to check whether or not the user is actually wearing the device. Family members can also be notified about the user's status by email and text messaging. Find out more by going to: halomonitoring.com or call 1.888.971.4256.
     
  2. Philips Lifeline Auto Alert 
    This product also has a sensor built into a wristband or pendant that detects the trajectory of a fall and automatically transmits a signal to the call center to activate the system, all without the user having to do anything. This system does not monitor heart rate, nor does it provide daily reports to family members through a website.  For more information, go to lifelinesys.com or call 1.800.380.3111.
 

The bottom line

  • Older adults prefer to stay in their own homes and maintain their independence as long as possible and, while family members want to support these wishes, safety is a concern that must be addressed.
  • Personal emergency response systems (PERS) provide older adults and other at-risk individuals with 24-hour-a-day access to assistance at the press of a button.
  • As the PERS market has evolved, new technologies have come on the market  that further enhance safety with features such as automatic fall detection, heart-rate monitoring and email/web-based reporting.

 

 

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