LifeFone’s Reliable Medical Alert Systems

In 1996, the New England Journal of Medicine conducted a study in San Francisco. They conducted a population-based study of patients who were found in their homes either helpless or dead. Over 12 weeks, paramedics employed by the city of San Francisco identified 387 such events involving 367 persons.

Medical Alert Systems May Have Changed Some Things…

If you"re on the fence about whether or not to get a reliable medical alert system, it"s a good thing you"re reading this article.

Health care providers and reliable medical alert systems are sometimes called to help with people who are found alone in their homes who are helpless. The median age of the persons found helpless or dead was 73 years; 51 percent were women. The frequency of such incidents increased sharply with age, from a rate of 3 per 1000 per year among those 60 to 64 years of age to 27 per 1000 per year among those 85 years of age or older. The highest rate was among men 85 years and older who were living alone (123 per 1000 per year). Of the patients found alive, 62 percent were admitted to the hospital. The average hospital stay was eight days, and 52 percent of those admitted required intensive care. Of the survivors, 62 percent were unable to return to living independently. The total mortality was 67 percent for patients who were estimated to have been helpless for more than 72 hours, as compared with 12 percent for those who had been helpless for less than 1 hour.

For elderly people who live alone, becoming incapacitated and unable to get help is a common event, which usually marks the end of their ability to live independently. While that"s a drastic fact, a reliable medical alert system can drastically lessen the chances of anyone becoming helpless. With LifeFone"s reliable medical alert system, it"s simple. Push the alert on the waterproof LifeFone pendant button, which activates the in-home base unit, which then alerts the Emergency Response Center – with a fast reaction time, the amount of people found helpless in their homes will decrease substantially if they get a LifeFone reliable medical alert system.