Personal Emergency Response System: Five Important Facts about a PERS Device
Considering a PERS, or personal emergency response system, device for your senior?
It helps to have a better understanding of how the Personal Emergency Response System device works and how complicated it might be to use.
Personal Emergency Response System in St. Louis MO: Medical Alarms
PERS Devices Are Easy to Set Up
PERS devices are designed to be really easy to set up. If there are barriers to ease of use, your senior probably isn’t likely to use the device, which defeats the purpose of having it. For instance, if your elderly family member needed to have a professional come and install the device, that might feel like just too much. But being able to use the system almost immediately out of the box is a huge relief.
They’re Also Easy to Use
As mentioned, PERS devices are deliberately kept simple to use. The device itself has a speaker, a microphone, and a button. The button is used to summon help, and the speaker and microphone allow her to speak with someone who can get help to her once she’s connected to the dispatcher. Other features, like geofencing, which functions automatically, making the device even easier to use.
Your Senior Has Options for Wearing a PERS
The ideal Personal Emergency Response System device allows your senior some flexibility with wearing and carrying the device, too. Typically, there are various options, like a lanyard so she can wear it around her neck and a wristband so she can wear it like a watch. Options for slipping it in a pocket or clipping it on her waistband also help with convenience.
They Charge Quickly
A device that isn’t ready to go when your senior is doesn’t do her as much good as you might hope. A PERS device should charge very quickly so that your elderly family member is able to rest or do something relatively sedentary while she waits. She shouldn’t have to wait all afternoon or day to be able to get back to being active if she wants to be.
Geofencing Helps with a Variety of Concerns
Something else you might want to look for, especially if your elderly family member has some specific health issues, is a geofencing feature. Geofencing sends caregivers an alert if the device leaves a pre-defined area. This can be helpful if your senior has dementia and wanders, for instance.
When your senior doesn’t even have to think about how to use her Personal Emergency Response System device, she’s far more likely to feel comfortable having it with her on a consistent basis.
