By Carolyn L. Rosenblatt, RN, BSN, Attorney
Whether you worry about her day to day, or just notice that she’s getting older, you want to keep tabs on your loved one for her own safety. But how? We’ve learned about a new GPS emergency button that looks like the solution.
Peopletrack, a new company, has finally adapted GPS technology to a device that Mom can wear, no matter where she goes. The limitation of existing bracelets, pendants and other personal emergency response devices is that they can only track your aging loved one for about 500 feet. What if she goes outside? Takes a walk and falls? You’d never know, and the pendant you bought for her under those circumstances is useless if Mom is a few blocks down the street.
It happened to us. My mother in law is 87. She has high blood pressure and the doctor was messing around (non-technical term) with her medication dosage. She felt faint when she was standing in line for an event in her community, fell on the ground, banged herself up, and ended up in the hospital. We learned about this from the paramedics, who called my husband, Mikol, from Mom’s cell! What if she hadn’t been with other people so close by to call the paramedics? She takes long walks by herself.
Here at AgingParents.com, we spend a lot of time emphasizing safety for elders. We really like the idea of using GPS technology to bust past the existing emergency bracelet/pendant limitations. Now, new technology can bring help to our aging parent in an urgent situation wherever she may go: by car, on foot, or with friends away from home. If she presses the button, help will come out, even if she can’t talk. That’s reassuring for us, as Mom lives alone and still drives. She can take this device in her car. It works across the USA. We tested it. Response time was about 90 seconds. And yes, she still has to wear the thing and be able to press the button to get help.
To find out more about this new device, contact peopletrackusa.com or lori@peopletrackusa.com, (415) 577- 5023. It’s priced the same as similar, non-GPS devices.
