Why You Need an Emergency Response System for Your Home

Many senior citizens choose to live alone rather than moving to senior communities. They often make this choice in order to maintain their independence and live their lives as they desire. However, senior citizens who live alone can face certain dangers that can cause their friends and family members to worry about their safety and health. Some of these dangers are outlined below.

Because of the common experience of equilibrium problems caused by decreases in vision, muscular strength, and brain function, senior citizens are more likely to fall than other populations. This can be dangerous, especially if senior citizens fall from stairs, or if as a result of falling they suffer head injuries or broken bones.

Seniors are also susceptible to forgetfulness and may forget to take their medications, leading to emergency medical situations. Sometimes this is due to the normal aging process. However, if the senior citizen has dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, both of which cause serious memory problems, the danger of them living alone is multiplied. If suffering from one of these neurological illnesses, the senior citizen may forget to eat, forget to turn off the stove, or leave the door to their homes unlocked, potentially inviting criminals in to take advantage of them.

Lastly, senior citizens are more likely to suffer emergency health problems such as heart attacks and strokes, both of which require immediate medical care. These health problems can incapacitate a person quickly, especially to the point where they have difficulty dialing phone numbers or speaking clearly in order to let emergency services know where they are and what type of assistance they need.

Given these potential perils of living by themselves, it is important that any senior citizen living alone has access to a personal emergency response system should they get into trouble. Emergency response systems offer senior citizens a direct connection to outside help, and usually require the senior citizen to do nothing other than press a button on a device worn around the neck in order to be connected. Some systems are even calibrated to automatically dial for help if they detect that the device wearer has fallen. The response system will put the senior citizen in touch with someone who can evaluate the emergency and contact friends, neighbors, family members, or emergency medical services on their behalf, depending on the seriousness of the situation. These response systems are available to help any senior citizen who requires it twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days of the year.

Emergency response systems, even if they are never used, offer peace of mind for senior citizens and their families. They also allow seniors who want to live alone and are otherwise capable of taking care of themselves to continue to do so, without being forced to give up their independence and move to a nursing home. An emergency response system is always a good investment for any senior citizen who lives alone and wants to feel secure knowing that help is available whenever needed.


Posted by Henry McCambridge henry.mccambridge@gmail.com