Bob Minard, my father-in-law, lives alone in a single-family home a mile away from us in Wintergreen’s Stoney Creek community. He drives three times a week to the gym at Augusta Health and Fitness, does his own shopping, and regularly does yard work and work around his house. He is far from being home-bound.

But, for his 90th birthday, we asked if we could give him a medical alert system and he agreed to try it. It has been working well.

There were several personal considerations in our shopping for the medical alert system. For example, Bob was not used to carrying a cell phone with him. And he told us he preferred a watch, not a pendant.

We started our research online, reading carefully the good summary from Consumer Reports. Also helpful was the summary of products and services at USnews.com.

After talking on the phone to some of the higher-rated vendors and visiting Best Buy in Charlottesville, we decided to try the device and service offered by Bay Alarm Medical.

We liked the features of their SOS Smartwatch, but we didn’t get to try it because it worked only on the AT&T cellular system, which is not very good at Bob’s house.

We returned it and got a full refund, less the cost of shipping.

Next, we tried a smartwatch provided by Lively, which is a division of Best Buy. Lively’s watch used the Verizon cellular network, which we knew worked at Bob’s house.

We bought this watch at Best Buy for $49.99 and a monthly plan at $29.95 ($24.95 after an AARP discount) which included the caretaker’s app.

This had to be returned as well since Bob was not used to carrying his cellphone everywhere and Lively’s watch needed to be paired with the Lively App on a cellphone to work; the watch could not be used without the phone. The gear was returned to Best Buy.

Since then Lively no longer offers their own watch but has recently added what they are calling Lively Services on Apple Watch with an app.

Apple’s higher-end watches are available where they can be paired to any cellular service. If you already have a cell phone, most carriers charge only an additional $10 a month to connect a cellular-ready Apple watch. (Or, the less expensive Apple watches can simply connect to an iPhone.)

The Apple Watch with the Lively services wasn’t offered at the time we were shopping for a service, so Bob’s experience has been with Lively Mobile Plus worn as a pendant.

Our cost for this device was less than $50 and it’s often on sale now for close to $40 or less.

The features that worked for us included:

• The device is waterproof, so it can be worn in the shower.

• It doesn’t need a paired cell phone, using Verizon’s network.

• Speaker, microphone, and SOS button are on the device.

• The device can be worn around the neck or can be clipped to a belt or bag.

• It has a cellular network strength indicator.

• The charging cradle sits on the bedside stand, keeping it handy at night.

• An indicator on the device flashes and tones sound when the battery is low.

• Lively’s monthly monitoring charge $24.95 includes the caregiver app (AARP discount) that we can use to track the device.

Lively’s services using the Apple Watch are the same as with their pendant device.

Lively’s account setup allows users to put as many emergency contacts as they wish in their system.

When the monitoring system gets a trouble signal from the device, the alert goes to human monitors who react to what they are seeing.

Typically, a monitoring staff member will first contact the person using the device. A speaker and microphone on the device allows the user and the monitoring service to talk to each other. If the user doesn’t respond, the monitoring service will turn to the user’s emergency contact list, including local 911 services.

Besides the names and information on emergency contacts list, users can provide the service’s monitors with information such as their health history, medications, and even home entry codes. Lively says their monitoring agents will stay on the line as long as needed.

To assist with GPS tracking, users can also put in common locations where they go (i.e., in Bob’s case, Augusta Health and Fitness, our home, etc.). Lively has the ability to “find” the mobile device if it gets lost, using GPS within the device.

Family and caretakers can track when users leave home, arrive at destinations, and where they are on the road using the Lively Mobile app. (The smartphone app can also give an approximate location of the device although it may be a few minutes behind.)

What are Medical Alert Safety Devices?

There is an array of new services and products you can wear or carry that can summon help for you in an emergency, no matter if you are at home or “on the go.”

The technology is evolving rapidly with major technology players such as Apple and Google going after this market, as well as specialized firms.

Watches are connected monitoring services with cellular and wifi capability directly or via your cell phone. Some are dedicated emergency contact devices, others are consumer products with specialized apps.

Pendants are stand-alone devices that are worn around the neck or clipped to a belt or handbag. They might be linked to a base station in the home or to a cellular network.

Phones often have functionalities that can be set up to call for help. This includes smartphones, flip phones, and even cordless landline phones with an emergency button.

To summon help, almost all of these devices can be set up to quickly and easily so that they can contact a contracted monitoring service, call local 911, or simply contact friends or family. In some cases (such as wearable devices that can detect a sudden fall), the call for help from the device can happen automatically.

There are many considerations when selecting a device and system. For example,…

Where do you need a medical alert service? At home only, or at home and on the go?

In the shower, bathtub, or pool? Is the device waterproof?

What services do you already have? What kind of cell phone do you have and what service provider does it use? If you don’t have a cell phone, should you get one or use a dedicated emergency contact device. Or, use a cordless phone tied to your home’s landline base station?

Do you always carry a cell phone everywhere?

Can your cell phone’s standard emergency call functions be set up to be adequate?

Do you want fall detection?

Do you want a one-push, two-way speakerphone device?

Do you want your family, friends, or care partner to be able to always know your location, or when you are driving from your home to another location?

Note that these systems are not only for those who live alone; they work well for couples as well.

What happens when an alert is sent? It depends…

Most all systems allow the user to customize the settings to determine who is notified when help is wanted.

Also, what type of message goes out varies by the system and how it is set up.

Other places to see medical alert/safety devices

Walgreens https://www.walgreens.com/search/results.jsp?Ntt=Lively%20alert&inStockOnly=true

CVS
https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-health-symphony-essential-bundle-prodid-2840068
Note: CVS service uses ATT cellular network

Best Buy https://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?id=pcat17071&st=lively+alert

Walmart
https://www.walmart.com/search?q=Medical+alert