If you are like many adult children with aging parents who live alone, you may find yourself worrying about mom or dad’s safety. It takes very little for an elderly person to end up with months of hospitalizations, medical bills or rehabilitation: one fall can do it. And when you add in the likelihood of medical issues that may require a senior to need immediate attention, it is apparent why so many families turn to home medical alert systems to help protect their aging parents and family members.

It can be challenging however, to sort through the hundreds of home medical alert systems on the market. To start, it is best to learn how these systems are meant to work. Most fall into one of two categories: those with a round the clock monitoring service, and those that have no service, and only provide the equipment.

Home medical alert systems that provide a monitoring service will usually include a service agreement between the customer and the monitoring company. These types of systems work like this: if the alert device is activated, the monitoring system is notified, and they in turn, contact the designated people and/or emergency personnel.

An important consideration when choosing a system with monitoring is that they are typically more expensive than products without. There will be a monthly fee charged for this service, which can be in the range of $30-40 per month, in addition to an installation or activation fee.

Does your elderly loved one need a 24/7 monitoring service? For many seniors, the answer to this is “no”, and for them, home medical alert systems that do not involve a monitoring service are perfectly fine. This is certainly a more affordable option, as there is no monthly service fee, so for anyone who needs to think about cost, this will be an important consideration. Once the basic equipment is purchased, the only cost would be replacing batteries as needed.

In those systems that do not use a monitoring service, when the alert device is activated, the calls go directly to one of the pre-chosen phone numbers that are programmed into the system. For example, the senior and family may choose a family member, neighbor, or friend to receive any emergency calls…or the call can go directly to 911 if desired.

Nothing can take your place when caring for your aging parents, but having a good home medical alert system can help. Safety, security, and peace of mind can be achieved, knowing that if your elderly family member needs help, it is only the push of a button away.

While worrying about the security of elderly family members may keep you up at night, a good alert system can give you peace of mind, and help for your elderly loved one. Before you decide, find out about the different home medical alert systems that are available, and see if LifeStation is the best choice for your elderly family member.