Remember those classic "I've fallen and I can't get up" commercials? They are for medical alert devices that are supposed to help people who have a medical emergency. However, I learned last night in my Alarm Awareness Training (don't ask! -- all I'll say is don't turn on your motion detector when there are balloons in the house!) that these devices may just notify the police, who are trained in little more than applying a band-aid. By the time the police dispatch medical professionals, the person in trouble may have lost precious time. Who knew?????
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This is a very interesting Share. This story is going to end in tragedy but my neighbors had Life Alert and her husband fell in the garage with a heart attack. She pressed the button and came to my other neighbors house for help. The helping neighbors tried everything they could to provide help and called 911 and also were administering CPR on him.
Unfortunately, the police showed up with the Life Alert call and the police provided no assistance to the CPR administering neighbor. It was approximately 15 minutes before medical assistance arrived and they pronounced him dead at the scene.
I believe that the intentions of Life Alert is a wonderful idea, but sending police instead of medical help may have saved his life.
August 22, 2009 - 10:55amThis Comment
This is very interesting - I never knew that they would call police and not emergency services like paramedics.
August 22, 2009 - 10:27amThis Comment
Thank you for your Share. So, what did you learn in your Alarm Awareness Training (love the concept) that someone CAN do, if the alert device is neither efficient nor enough protection? Were there any comparisons done between devices?
I can totally understand the balloon/motion detector cause and effect, LOL!
August 13, 2009 - 6:18pmThis Comment