A lot of people think that medical alert devices are a good alternative to assisted living. In reality, however, I believe that a medical alert device can increase the risks associated with growing older rather than decrease them. Wearing a medical alert bracelet, although it does provide some protection, also provides a big boost in confidence. People who are too frail to even get up on their own think that, because of their medical alert device, they are capable of living on their own. This simply is not the case.
I work at the operating center of one of the major medical alert devices companies, although I'm not at liberty to say which one. Practically every day, we get a call from someone with the same story. They have had a terrible slip and fall, or have become confused about where they are and stopped eating. Usually, it turns out that they end up alright, but sometimes they are not that lucky. Families get the medical alert devices because it allows them to not have to deal with the expense of an assisted living community. Often, in one of these communities, the resident would have been found even quicker than we can get to them. All things being equal, the old and infirm are better off with medical alert devices. These devices, however, do not make as much of a difference as you would think.
The problem is, no one can really picture how bad an accident can be until the have one. It is easy, for example, for a relatively sharp but physically frail grandmother to be able to think about falling down and breaking or spraining a leg or ankle. She might assume that medical alert devices would send someone straight to her rescue. It would never even occurred to her to think about what would happen if, instead of a leg, she broke her arm. The arms are just as frail, if not even more so. Without the use of an arm, she could never press the button on her medical alert bracelet. She would be helpless.
The bottom line is that medical alert bracelets are no substitute for care of the elderly. There is no getting around the reality that when we get old, we get frail and we need people to take care of us. Without someone looking after you, who knows what kind of trouble you can get into. It is just not worth the risk, if you ask me. medical alert devices might be good additions to supervision, but they are no substitute.
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