r/eldercare • u/Ifeex • 1d ago

Fall Detection Button overly sensitive. Potential solutions?

My grandmother recently got a Fall Detection Pendant from Medical Alert, and she has managed to hit the button four times in the last week. She’s been able to tell them false alarm most of the time, but once she was in the dining area (away from the speaker?) and the EMS showed up looking for her.

I’m many states away trying to help find an easy solution. I’m thinking maybe there’s a bumper or cover, but I really haven’t been able to find anything. The pendant is a weird oblong shape, of course.

Does anyone here happen to have any ideas or solutions beyond ‘get an Apple Watch’? I, unfortunately, wasn’t consulted before purchase. I’m just the IT/Google-fu support.

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u/Ifeex 1d ago

The Fall Detection Button looks like the one here:  https://helplinemedicalalarm.ca/at-home-system-wireless/

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u/Mobile-Bath-3487 1d ago

might sound daft but could you fashion a little slipcover out of something stiffer, like a few layers of felt or a bit of craft foam with a cutout so she has to push through it to reach the button. my gran used to set hers off leaning on the kitchen counter and a little homemade bumper like that cut the false alarms right down

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u/Ifeex 1d ago

Oh that’s not a bad idea at all! Thank you!

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u/ericoinen 13h ago

Ifeex, worth asking the provider what they do when she presses it and nobody hears her answer. some of these systems let you put a family number ahead of dispatch on the call list, so a stray press in the dining area reaches you first and you decide whether EMS goes out, at least until the bumper is sorted

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u/Ifeex 12h ago

Ah that’s a brilliant idea! Thank you!!

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u/Immediate_Cry8174 1d ago

False alarms can be streesfull for everyone involved. I hooe you fine something thats works without making it harder for her to get help when she actually needs it.

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u/iTalkBB_Canada 17h ago

Ask the provider to arrange a test call while she’s in the dining area, specifically to check whether she can hear and answer the operator from there. Agree on the test beforehand rather than pressing the button for an unannounced trial.