A Lockbox Can Save Lives, Prevent Home Damage

Imagine this scenario: Your senior family member has had to activate his emergency medical pendant and the medical personnel are on the way. The senior can’t get up to answer the door; the locked door is a barrier between the patient and emergency medical personnel.

In this scenario, most emergency personnel will break down the door in order for the medics to gain entry. Consider that in many municipalities, only the fire department has authority to break down a door and you may be adding precious minutes to the response time of getting care for your loved one.

If the door has to be broken not only will you be worrying about the health of your parent, but you are faced with the fact that the door will need to be fixed, but more immediate is the fact that the house is unsecured when your parent is taken to the hospital. Is there a way to address this scenario? Yes. LifeFone provides lockboxes as a way to prevent this from happening and as another service to its clients.

Lockboxes for wearers of medical alert devices

Lockboxes, used by real estate agents, have long been used by medical alert providers as a way to allow emergency medical personnel to gain access to the home. Anyone with an aging relative may want to look into a lockbox in the event a caregiver needs to get into the home and the senior isn’t answering the door. With a lockbox, a four digit password is provided to the medical alert provider and a spare key to the home is secured in the lockbox. The lockbox then hangs off the front door handle or can be wall mounted in a designated area.

Consider too that a lockbox on your parent’s home offers an additional layer of security if they live alone. Rather than keeping the door unlocked, it can remain locked at all times and only those with the combination can access the key and let themselves into the home. If your parent were injured or suffered a trip or fall accident and were unable to get to the door, the lockbox could be a lifesaver.

If you have a lockbox on the home, the combination will be provided to your medical alert provider who will give it to an emergency medical responder. The code will pop up on the medical device providers’ screen if your loved ones activate their medical alert device and can be easily accessed for the medical responder.

Caregivers that are dealing with senior parents in failing health or others with disabilities may want to purchase a lockbox as a safety precaution; they are inexpensive peace of mind devices. If you have concerns about a lockbox being in plain sight of passersby the lockbox can be placed on an out of the way location or on a door that may not be visible from the street, the only caveat is that you must give your medical alert provider information about where the lockbox is and how medical personnel can access it.