Why Not Just Call 911? Medical Alert Systems Provide Personalized Help

It’s common knowledge that a Medical Alert System is more effective than a 911 call. 911 operators don’t have a personalized profile available for the user when a call is placed. Thus, they won’t have a list of the user’s emergency contacts at the ready, they won’t know the medications that the user takes or any relevant medical conditions, and they won’t have on file the user’s instructions for how to access the residence.

Without this info, it make take longer for the user to get help, and in a critical emergency they may not be able to explain all of this information in detail over the phone.

Many new customers ask us: “How will the paramedics get into my relative’s home?” or “How do you call the emergency contacts?”

The answer is simple. When you sign up for Bay Alarm Medical Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) we will create a personalized customer information profile for the user. This information is entered into our data-encrypted site that can only be accessed by our staff and by our emergency dispatchers.

When the emergency button is pressed, the dispatcher will be able to pull up all the information needed to get help over to the home as quickly as possible. They will know where the user lives, have the user’s instructions for entering the home, and a list of who the user wants them to call in an emergency.

On the Customer Information Form you will fill out any emergency information that you would want the dispatchers to know. There is a designated section for you to fill out all your emergency contact names, phone numbers, and addresses. You can write next the numbers whether or not you want us to call those people before or after we dial 911.

On this form you’ll also tell us the best way for your local paramedics to gain access to the home. There are designated spots for you to fill out whether you have any hidden keys (location and description), garage code, lockbox code, and gate code.

In this section, you can also put down any other special instructions. For example, if the user has pets in the yard, for the paramedics to be careful when they leave not to let them escape. This is a good place for any other pertinent information like if the user is hard of hearing, or can’t see very well, etc.

At the bottom of the form is a section called “Vial of Life.” Along with the order, we provide a free Vial of Life to place on the user’s fridge or in another easily-accessible place in the home. The Vial of Life (pictured at the top of this article) is a form on which you will write down any medications that the user takes or medical conditions.

The Vial of Life was designed so that the dispatchers can quickly gain access to the user’s medical information in an emergency. On this section on the form, you will fill out the location of the Vial of Life.

It’s very important to fill out these forms and get them back to us as soon as possible, as there may be times when falls occur and the user can’t hear the dispatcher and vice-versa. In events like these, when the dispatchers are not able to establish communication with the user, they are going to assume that it is an emergency and send out help.

If the dispatchers don’t have this information on file, it will delay them and may take longer for the user to get help. Check out this detailed infographic on how quickly a fall victim’s condition can deteriorate if they don’t get help quickly enough.

And that’s it! It’s a simple, but highly effective solution for keeping you and your loved ones protected!

As always, do not hesitate to call our toll-free line at 1-877-522-9633 if you have any further questions.