Personal Emergency Response Systems

At last Tuesday's support group meeting, one of the issues that was raised was the safety of minimally disabled ALS patients who may be left in the home alone for a period of time during the day. This issue led to a discussion of personal emergency response systems (PERS) or medical alert devices. Many of these personal alarm systems stemmed as a response to the need by the elderly for the ability to live independently or by people with chronic illnesses who may experience life-threatening situations from heart attacks, fluctuations in their blood levels of important substances such as glucose, and the like.

A look at the Official Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages shows some vendors of these systems under "Medical Alarms." One of our members, Chester, uses "Lifeline Hawaii Services," which he claims provides reasonably priced services requiring only a landline connection and a one-time fee. A quick survey of online services also produced a few national vendors (eg. LifeStation.) No doubt, these systems are very important in keeping ALS patients and their caregivers confident of safety in the home, especially when the patient is alone. Some questions that need to be asked when thinking of using such a system include:

1. Are there different kinds/ways of activating the system by the patient? For example, aside from the usual pendant, devices which allow activation by people with limited hand/elbow/shoulder movement would be very helpful.

2. What is the range of activation? How far away from the receiver - phone or console - can the patient be and still be assured of generating an alarm?

3. Cost: Are there activation/installment fees? one-time payment or scheduled regular payments?

4. What happens when the alarm is activated? What constitutes a "response?" to help the patient?

5. How is/are the equipment maintained? Is there a battery back-up in case the power goes off?

While PERS are very important in the care of a person with ALS, it is also important to determine the point in the progression of the illness at which the PERS is no longer useful. For more information about these devices, check out the Federal Trade Commission site on PERS:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/products/pro24.shtm