If you search Google for “medipendant complaints” you get only a couple of results. Okay, there are a lot of results, but most of them have nothing to do with Medipendant. I followed one link, to a site called ComplaintBoard.com, and found the following information: “There are no complaints using term medipendant have been found.” [...]
I’m sitting and I can’t stand up
Getting up out of a favorite chair can be a struggle for the elderly. Solutions come in two varieties. The first is a so-called “lift cushion” which is a seat cushion that has been designed to gently lift you to your feet, either by spring action or by an electric motor. These are affordable and [...]
Headlong down the stairs. In the dark.
Stairs are dangerous in the dark. The solution is more light. But sometimes people are reluctant to turn on the lights. Maybe they’re worried it’ll disturb someone else in the house. Or they’re just not in the habit. Or else the stairs aren’t rigged with two light switches — one at the top and one [...]
How Hot is Too Hot?
Scalding is a real risk for the elderly, just as it is for young children. Water doesn’t have to be boiling hot to damage sensitive tissue. The easiest and cheapest solution is to adjust the hot water heater so it’s set at a maximum of 120 degrees. Read the manual for the hot water heater [...]
The Worst Place to Put a Throw Rug
Right at the top of the stairs, that’s where. Can you think of a worse place to start a magic carpet ride? Heck, even I find it treacherous. I taped it down once, but then my parents got a new rug from somewhere and swapped it out for the old one (actually, the “new” one [...]
The #1 Secret to Preventing Falls by Seniors
Go to the doctor. Seriously. That’s it. Get a complete physical, and set up a regular schedule of periodic checkups. Many falls and accidents are caused by physical problems that come along with age: loss of vision, hearing, balance, etc. And falls can be made worse by conditions like osteoporosis. A good physical exam can [...]
How to pick a medical alert system in just 5 minutes
Your mom or dad lives alone. They’re getting increasingly frail. If they fall or have a medical emergency at home, there’s no one there to help them. You hate the thought of them lying on the floor in pain for days, or dying because they couldn’t get emergency help. The solution is a medical alert [...]
Old Life Alert Commercials
Remember those old Life Alert commercials from the 1980′s? I found a few versions on YouTube today. For many of us, these commercials were burned into our brains, not just because we saw them frequently but also because they became an object of humor. One thing I’ve written about elsewhere is how the very idea [...]
Medical Alerts get help in burglaries and assaults
We think of medical alerts as devices to summon help in a medical emergency, or when we’ve fallen and can’t get up, but they can be used in different situations, too. I recently heard of two situations where an elderly person used their medical alert to summon help when they were the victim of a [...]
Medical Alert Systems: what do they cost?
Here’s your basic guide to what a medical alert system costs: It’s really pretty simple. Most monitored medical alert systems cost about $30 a month. What about no-fee or autodialer medical alert systems? These are the ones that dial friends and family instead of a monitoring center. These cost from $100 to $300. The model [...]
