I'm in search for a medical alert system that would contact me and other family members that won't have monthly fees and isn't costly. Any suggestions?

Unrealistic expectation

My mom has a freedom alert pendant. It cost about $200 but has no monthly fee. You have to program in the numbers for it to call.

It is made by LogicMark.

My mother has a V-tech phone system. It came with a regular land line phone with answering machine/cordless phone, and a pendent that she wears. it does not call out if she should fall... but it allows her to call 911 or me, if she needs help and she does not have to run to answer the phone, resulting in a possible fall. It cost about 120.00, and no monitoring fee as it is not monitored, just allows her to wear a phone around the house so its always in reach. It works well.

We are currently using a system through residential home health care here in in the Metro Detroit area. The Care Link system itself has no cost but the monthly fee is $30. Mom and Dad just have to press the button on their wrist bracelet or a pendant whichever they choose to wear. It called nine-one-one and then they call the kids that they have listed as given to them by us. My research over the past year did not find any free services like this. We have had to use the system twice and it worked well and quickly both times. They're also understanding and forgiving when my father who has dementia presses the button just for the sake of pressing a button. He doesn't really know that he's calling for an emergency. Wishing you luck on this caregiver Journey. It can be challenging mentally, physically and financially but it can also be rewarding.

If your mom is on medicaid, they may provide a system free of charge.

LiveLife Mobile Alarm
Not sure where you reside, but we are in Canada and for my dad, who lives on his own, we use this. It’s a one time purchase price of $420 Canadian. It has no monthly fee. It works with the use of calling cards from 711 stores -on line - the convenience store.  It’s waterproof. You wear it around your neck with a breakaway concept so if you get it caught you won’t hurt yourselves. It has fall detection that can be adjusted for sensitivity. It has a button the wearer can push if help is needed, or the wearer can be contacted directly and vice versa with loved ones. You get the 1st calling card included for $35, and load more on line as you need it. You can program up to 5 people including 911. It begins sending text messages and then phones them next. Costs are 10 cents for each text, 40 cents for phone calls. You can stop the chain of events when you speak to the loved one by pressing 1 into your phone or the wearer can stop it themselves. Works good when your loved one does not answer daily phone calls - you can connect with them through the device directly. Requires to be put in a modem for charging 1 hour each day. I think they operate out of Alberta Canada. It also has GPS to locate where they are.

We have a Freedom alert pendant that my dad wore around his neck until we had to put him in the nursing home for skilled nursing care. You can program 5 numbers in it with the last one being 911. It worked really well with no monthly charges. I would be willing to sell it at a reasonable price if you’re interested.

When you find one let me know. I've checked several and they are out of our price range, especially the ones who contact emergency systems when a person falls. That's and extra $10 over the 30 for the monthly fee. I wanted one to get out for about an hour, leaving him alone but he was on the floor when I got home. Can't leave him alone any more.

Here is another idea If your parent is still mentally capable of talking and not too far advanced with any major problem and if you are computer savvy, this Alexa thing will call numbers if you command it the numbers are set up on the phone you set it up with etc. - i.e. you can say call rescue, call Henry, etc. via speaker - requiring only voice command. I am aware there are problems with that such as if you fall and hit your head and pass out etc. and everyone is on a different needs level. It used to be great in our original situation but for us, mother will not remember to use it and her dementia is too far along. Also what used to be good for us was the telephones you can get from ILA that has a one button alert to call 911 or other people. They have some interesting options I found, can look online Independent Living Aids for different things that may meet your needs

My mom uses V.ALRT by VSN Mobile. It's only around $40 and it will call and text up to 3 people when she falls or pushes the button. It's fine, but I'm glad you asked this question, because I'm looking for a little more high-end one (but still without a monitoring fee) and it looks like there are a lot of good suggestions here.

Not sure where you live but here in Ohio there is an Elder Service Agency which can guide you to services for seniors. They guided me to our county community services and provided a case manager for my parents. I could not have managed without them. Costs are income based, very reasonable. They assessed my parents needs and provided grab bars, meal delivery, weekly in home aid, fall alert system and medication dispenser which reminds them to take mess and alerts me if they miss one. I would definitely see if anything is available before investing on your own.

I got one for my Mom on Amazon, I think it was under $50, It uses a home phone line hers is hooked up to her VOIP line but a regular land-line is great too and you can program the numbers you want it to call in the order you want. So we have it set to dial my brother first (he lives closest) then my cell, then my home and it it continues to rotate through those numbers until someone answers. You need to press a button when you answer so it knows it got a real person and not voice mail otherwise it hangs up and moves on to the next number. You can include 911 in the series or simply have it call only 911, it tells the operator or person answering the phone what to do and I forget now but I think it can be set up a little differently for just 911 if you choose too. But the pendant she wears has a 2 way speaker so when she pushes the button and I answer for instance she can talk to me without having to do anything else. The range on it is really good too, she can be out in the yard and it still works we tested it both when she was living at my brothers (where she was when we first got it) and then when it moved back to her house with her and the range was great in both places. The VOIP lines at both houses are never used to make outgoing calls anymore so I know it's her emergency button when I see the call which is great too because I know I have to answer then and there or call her back if I miss the call. No fees, once you buy the unit you own it and there are no ongoing service fees. I'm happy to look back and find out which one I got exactly if it helps but Amazon sells several of them so you might find one that suits your needs better by doing a little research. Read the reviews and questions, the more expensive ones aren't necessarily better and as I recall several seemed to be exactly the same but priced differently so I went with the least expensive one I felt met our requirements. It has worked out great, the only real drawback is it's size. It is bigger than the buttons that use a subscription service and a bit more of a PIA for her because of that but it comes with a lanyard so she can wear it around her neck as well as a thing that allows her to wear it on her wrist if she wants. She chooses the lanyard and tucks it in her shirt pocket or the pouch she wears around her neck to carry her phone and agrees to it over the subscription service options simply for the cost savings.

This isn't unrealistic at all. I wish I had seen this topic earlier. It's actually fairly simple.

1) Get a pendant phone. This phone will replace the house phone. It will come with a base station that replaces the house phone and come with a pendant that she can wear around her neck like those well known pay per month services you see on TV.

amazon.com/VTECH-SN6187-CareLine-Caller-Pendant/dp/B00CE3YJ9O

2) Setup a google voice number. You can attach many numbers to a google voice number. It will ring all those numbers when the google voice number is called. So this one phone number will ring all your family members as long as you add them to the google voice account.
google.com/voice

3) Program the google voice number into the pendant.

Whoever wearing the pendant can simply hit the pre-programmed call out button and it will call all your family members. Other than the cost of the home phone service, which I assume you already have, there is no additional monthly cost.

This solution works in the house. If you need a solution with mobile service that works everywhere, that will not be much harder and the cost will be low. There are similar simple mobile phones for the elderly and kids. You can pay for 100 minutes of cell phone time that doesn't expire for about $10. 100 minutes for only emergency service can last a lifetime.

Assistive Technology Services has several priced from $99.00 to $ 299.00. Some are waterproof & some are water resistant. Three phone numbers may be programmed in & it dials until answered. Some also have fall detection. I've had one for two years & it works great & no monthly fee.

In Ohio I was able to get one free, life alert with no monthly fees just because my income was low. My income is not that low as I don't qualify for AMHA but did for this. It comes with a speaker system. If you press the button they call out and talk to you. They have (that you give them) numbers they will call for you for help as well as send an Ambulance if you need one. Only works inside the apartment/house and a few feet from there. Fall alert and working out side of the apartment is expensive. I'm now living in another apartment building for Seniors which gives us a med alert button for free. It works through your cell phone. You press the button and they call your cell. If you don't answer they send an Ambulance. Again, just in your apartment, not for outside.

We got ours through our Area Agency on Aging (in Michigan.) Our grandpa had limited finances but was not in poverty or at Medicaid level of need at the time.

I just saw Anniepeepie's response and wanted to chime in on the Amazon Alexa devices. We just got Mom an Echo Show which is the one with a screen. It allows people you give permission to "drop in" much like dropping over and walking in the house. My brothers and I are able to use the free Alexa app on our phones to drop in in her Echo Show and she is being very receptive to it. She happened to have a hospital stay before we had a chance to introduce it to her at home which worked out great actually because we were able to introduce it in the hospital and she loved it there. One of us was able to be present in the room at all times whether physically or by this Echo Show so we never missed visits from the multitude of doctors that came in and she had company whenever she wanted it and didn't feel alone in the hospital, my brother was able to take more breaks from hanging out in the hospital with her before I got to CT (I live in VT) without the fear of missing info because I could monitor things electronically. We have used FaceTime in the past with her Ipad but she needed to answer the Ipad and it wasn't always easy for her and began to cause stress for her. This way too we can check in without bothering her, she is hard of hearing so when she's asleep she doesn't hear the signal someone is dropping in and it doesn't interupt her sleep but when she is awake she hears the signal and can see and talk to the person several seconds before the person dropping in can see her. She has the option to turn down the visit but hasn't asked how and we haven't made an effort to teach her, it works better for our situation but there are other options for various needs. It remains to be seen if she will be able to interact with it, she suffers from aphasia so we aren't sure if it is skilled enough to learn her speech pattern, time will tell but she is able to turn off the alarm we now have set on it to remind her to take medications now that she is home with it and she is still enjoying our ability to drop in for a visit without her having to do anything to answer the call. The speaker and mic system is so much better on it than the ipad or phone as well so you really can hear and communicate as though you were in the room which is nice for me on the other end and very helpful for someone with hearing issues like she is. But for someone that can call out and communicate with it, say one of the activate words it could be helpful in a fall or emergent situation. It picks up someone calling it's name from anywhere in the room very well but you would need an Echo device (not necessarily the Show) in each room to cover everywhere and in our situation I wouldn't feel comfortable relying solely on that for emergencies, I want an emergency call button on her as well. The show does however enable me to drop in and see things, talk to her if she is in the room and let her see me if she has an emergency, we are talking about getting another one for the kitchen next time they go on sale so we can be with her in the kitchen and sitting room connected to it too which will cover the areas of the house she uses most.

The senior services unit of the Collier County Sheriff’s dept has a FREE service whereby they call your loved one in the morning, you pick the time, and if something is wrong they will contact you. I know for a fact about this, because I’ve used it when I was living up north before I moved down here in 2008. If you live in Naples, FL you can call Angela Larson @ 239-252-0232 and inquire.  My mother ended up loving this, because the caller became a friend for my mother, mother and friend was sad to see us stop this when I moved down. You can also look in the Senior Blue Book for other resources, which is a book that is printed all over the U.S.
There’s also: http://info.iamfine.com/pricing/

I'm in Canada so I'm not sure this will help.....we got a Doro PhoneEasy 620. A cell phone designed for seniors. Has assistance functions including a help button which switches the phone to speaker and dials the first of five contact numbers you have set up. It calls unril someone answers. It also has "ICE" where you enter medical information that emergency services can access if needed saving valuable time. Bigger buttons, louder tone's, option for sight or hearing impaired etc...and does everything a cell phone does. It is not a smart phone. When mom's cell phone contract was up we signed up with another provider and received phone free. Mom doesn't use cell phone for calls, doesn't use data etc so the bill is about $25./month. Totally reasonable.

In response to LittleMidnight, everything is free if your on Medicaid. My parents make barely over the limit so we spend beaucoup bucks on their medical needs.

Piffier1, making over the limit is never a reason to not be on medicaid. There's a solution for that. Setup a miller trust and pay back the government some of their SS. Then they will be under the limit and thus eligible for medicaid. It's a silly hoop that the government makes you jump through.

Having said that, I never understood why there seems to be two rules for medicaid. Under expanded medicaid, it's no longer asset based. It's solely income based. So you can be worth a billion dollars and if you make less than $10K year you can be on expanded medicaid. Yet the older asset based system still seems to be in effect for older people. I guess there's a age limit to expanded medicaid and people get switched over to the older asset based medicaid.

So much good advice here🙏🏻

Youre on the perfect discussion site.

There is a company that works hand in hand (sorry I don't remember the name) with Aging.com

I have spoken with them. If I remember correctly, you must commit for 90 days then it's monthly; THERE IS NOT A CONTRACT TO SIGN like home alarm systems.

They will have an alarm similar to home alarms so if there is a break in. They have the choice of necklace type personal alarm or watch type. They have certified 911 personnel and it will be a 3 way conversation so you will be able to instruct EMTs etc as to what you want done.

I found them when I first joined this site.

I purchased Mobil Help for my mom. She pays 246.00 every six months. She has the fall alarm that goes around her neck, the push button bracelet for her arm and I also have the GPS that she takes with her in her car.
I have programmed the names of contact people. I can track her on my cell phone and I also have a key in a specific place where emergency personnel can enter her home if necessary. I am very happy with the system. If she sounds the alarm, someone will talk with her over the system

We got our mother a system from Medical Guardian- $400 per year, no monthly charges and you can program it to do what you need. I am in Massachusetts. Not sure what is available in your area.

My dad has one and got it from caring for the aging. There was no charge. He wears it around his neck.

Has anyone heard anything about Bay Alarm Medical? I'm narrowing down my search.

Thank you all for your responses! they have been extremely helpful!