What device can best help my fall-prone friend?

June 14, 2022 1:48 PM

My friend who lives alone has had two bad falls and is considering what kind of technology might help if they fall and become unconscious. The Apple Watch has fall detection, but can it call 911 and give them your correct address? And what about Amazon’s new Alexa Together thing? Or do you know of a different good suggestion?
posted by hungrytiger to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

Apple Watch will automatically call 911 after about a minute of motionlessness post-fall and play a recorded message with your latitude and longitude. It will also contact identified emergency contacts to let them know there was a fall.
posted by praemunire at 2:08 PM on June 14, 2022

Here's Apple's info on fall detection.
posted by hydra77 at 2:09 PM on June 14, 2022

Response by poster: She says the 911 dispatcher told her that the coordinates sent by the Watch last time were wrong (?) which is why there’s concern about what would happen if she were knocked out.
posted by hungrytiger at 4:05 PM on June 14, 2022

If the coordinates being shared by Apple are wrong, I'm guessing they aren't off by much. I would add their home address to the medical notes section of the Medical ID and make sure they have turned on the option to share the Medical ID information automatically in case of an emergency call. This would be particularly helpful since they can include the unit number if they live in an apartment or townhouse. Emergency services will then be able to see that information and route the responders more precisely.
posted by metahawk at 9:41 PM on June 14, 2022

Falls can be pretty life-altering, and if a person is a fall risk, it's really worth considering mobility aids and maybe even assisted living (permanent, temporary, whatever). The cellular device solution might not be solving the right problem.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 10:39 PM on June 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

Is your friend mainly worried about falls in or near their home, or when they're out and about away from home? If it's the former, I can recommend the Philips Lifeline system. You wear a pendant around your neck, which communicates with a base station you set up at home, which in turn communicates with their dedicated dispatch centers. The pendant detects falls and the unit will contact an ambulance automatically. They know the location because you tell them the location when you set up the base station. You can also invoke the emergency response deliberately using a button on the pendant or pressing a button on the base station, which is handy if you realize you're in imminent danger. The system is active 24/7. The only real downside is that it's a subscription-based service and may or may not be affordable, depending on your friend's finance.

My mother has the system and I can vouch for it working, at least in the US (specifically in California).
posted by StrawberryPie at 1:04 PM on June 15, 2022