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Medical alert watch band

LisaLisaLisa
LisaLisaLisa Member Posts: 1 New
edited April 2024 in I Am a Caregiver (General Topics)
My dad has Stage 5 ALZ and it is time to make sure he has a medical alert band - problem is he won’t wear a bracelet or necklace but he wears a watch - daily. Any ideas for a new watch band or add-on that acts as a medical alert? Thx.

Comments

  • SusanB-dil
    SusanB-dil Member Posts: 1,485
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    Hi LisaLisaLisa - welcome to 'here', but sorry for the reason.

    Most stage 5 of our LO's are not left alone. Would there be a reason you would need the band?

    There are a few posts where the caregiver wears one, or has something on them, so that should anything happen, emergency personnel would know they are a caregiver. Someone would need to let the back-up person, or another contact, know about the emergency.

  • harshedbuzz
    harshedbuzz Member Posts: 5,800
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    edited April 2024

    Road ID makes one that would work with a leather or rubber strap.
    https://www.roadid.com/pages/style-select-wearables

  • MN Chickadee
    MN Chickadee Member Posts: 955
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    Do you think he can learn new tech? i.e. will he know he has the button to push and use it if he needs it?

    I have the apple watch on all my elderly relatives and would for a PWD if I was doing it over. It has a fall detection and will call the emergency contact set up and 911 if the person falls and doesn't hit the I'm ok button. Of course you can use it to make any call yourself but I'm guessing he won't be able to figure that out. It has GPS tracking so you could see where he is. You can get it to either act alone , where you add it to your cell phone plan, or tie it to an existing iPhone where it must be within range of the phone but there is no extra fee. I think it's $10 a month to add it to my plan.
    I'm sure there are many products if you are looking for a true medical alert device. I know people like Angel Sense watches with dementia; you can set up a perimeter to be alerted if they leave it, GPS tracking, fall detection etc. There is a monthly fee.

  • Colacho10
    Colacho10 Member Posts: 39
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    My dad has Alzheimer's, and we had the same problem with wearing a bracelet or necklace. Also, when he got to wear it, it wasn't reliable. Sometimes it gave us false alarms, and sometimes it failed to alarm us when he fell. We ended up getting him the JubileTV box, which was a whole different story for him. It has a camera that senses his activity and routine, so if there's something off, I get notified on my app that is connected to the TV. Once, he fell while going to the bathroom, and I could conclude that by the lack of activity, and I got to help him in no time.

    I also set him reminders for his meds that pop up on the TV and call him if he didn't take them, which I can know by checking the camera. It helped me a lot, especially when I have to leave home for longer periods of time. The only drawback is that the device stays in one room, but for us, that was not a problem, because my dad leaves the room only when he goes to the bathroom.

    It might not be exactly what you were looking for, but depending on your situation, it might help.

  • towhee
    towhee Member Posts: 550
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    All good advice.

  • Michele P
    Michele P Member Posts: 133
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    I posted the same question this past week and received great suggestions. This week, I had a watch put on my husband through the local sheriff’s department through Project Lifesaver. The watch has a gps tracker. My husband’s tracking number, picture, and information is in a central data base enabling him to be tracked anywhere in the U. S. This is why this is important: years ago a relative in stage 5 with in home care walked out of the house when the in home care provider went into the other room. She was missing for over 3 hours before the police found her. No gps tracking devices existed then. Make sure you not only cover the medical emergency but wandering as well.

Commonly Used Abbreviations


DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
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