Three states — Florida, California and Texas — would account for nearly 46% of total U.S. population growth between 2000 and 2030, according to the projections released by the Census Bureau.

13% of the total population, 37.9 million people, was 65 and older in 2007. The number of people 85 and older reached 5.5 million, or 2% of the population.

States with the highest percentages of older people (65 and older) included Florida (17%), West Virginia (15.5%) and Pennsylvania (15.2%). States with the lowest percentages were Alaska (7%), Utah (8.8%) and Georgia (9.9%).

Beginning in 2011, the population 65 and older will grow faster than the total population in every single state.

Caring for our seniors is going to be a huge undertaking over the next 20 years.  Eldercare, Assisted living, nursing homes, medicare, medicaid, medical alert systems will become commonplace topics of conversation among seniors and those who care for them.

Will the new health care system recently passed be able to handle the medical needs of our senior population?
Will medicare and medicaid benefits be cut?
Will doctors begin turning down medicaid patients?

There are certainly many unknown variables on how this is going to play out. One thing is for sure, there are millions of seniors over the age of 65 who cannot afford large increases in health care coverage, expensive assisted living facilities, round the clock eldercare.  Having a home medical alert system is still a very affordable option for many seniors and one that may allow them to remain in there home for a few more years. For seniors, maintaining their independence and peace of mind is something most just do not want to have to give up.

At MedFirst Alert we are committed to providing you with the absolute best possible service when it comes to taking care of your emergency medical response needs. Please take a minute to watch our video and learn why it’s so important for our seniors and those with disabilities to be protected by a medical alert system.

You may download the Free Senior Safety Fall Prevention Checklist here. Please give us a call if you have any questions regarding medical alert systems and how we might be able to help your mom, dad or a loved one in which you are a caregiver.  We would also be happy to send you one of our medical alert brochures.

South Carolina has experienced a significant growth of seniors or mature adults over the last
few decades. The baby boom has begun to have a dramatic impact and will continue to affect
the nation and South Carolina’s communities and institutions over the next twenty years. The
state’s population has grown from 286,272 persons aged 60 and over since 1970 to 651,482 in
the year 2,000, a 128% increase in thirty years. The population 60 years and over is projected
to increase to 1,450,487 by the year 2030, a 123% increase from 2000

Seniors in South Carolina have increased 128% over the past 30 years and are expected to increase another 123% by the year 2030.  This means that by the year 2030 we will have around 1,450,487 seniors.  According to the Census Bureau South Carolina’s population in 2007 is:

Statewide Total: 4,407,709
Statewide 65 years and older: 573,098 or 13.0% of population
Statewide 85 years old and older: 72,499 or 1.6% of the population

South Carolina has serious issues that must be addressed as the population ages.  Long term care will be one of those issues. It’s expensive these days for seniors to either go into a nursing home or an assisted living facility and many seniors just can’t afford it.

Several services have become available to seniors such as in home eldercare companies and medical alert systems to allow seniors to stay at home where they would rather be for an extended period of time.  Basic needs such as grocery shopping, household chores, medical prescription reminders and companionship are typically provided by eldercare providers.  Having a medical alert system in the home when a care provider is not available will provide peace of mind and security for both the senior and the care provider.

One of the most difficult conversations you will have with your aging parent is generally centered around their health care. Will they go to an assisted living facility? Will they stay at home with a full time nurse? Will they receive partial in home care?

Children of senior citizens worry about their parents being alone at home and unable to call for help often purchase their parents with a medical alert system only to discover that they don’t want it and refuse to use it. This is a common problem confronted by children concerned about their senior parents. Oftentimes, it takes an emergency medical event like a fall or heart attack before your loved one realizes the benefit of  medical alert systems.

How is it possible for a child to convince their elderly parent that it is in their best interest to have a medical alert system and even more importantly -use it?

In an effort to make this process easier, begin communicating about the future with your parents regardless of their age. Talk about what their thoughts are on assisted living facilities, in home care, medical alert systems.  Let them know that you love them and this is the reason you are bringing  up the conversation.  Experts believe that by laying down this communication groundwork in the early stages, children and parents will benefit in the long run.

Statistics show that 9 out of 10 parents do not want to burden their children and as a result will often respond to this honest communication method.

When placed under duress, the majority of us will resist regardless of how sound a plan or another person’s arguments are. With that said, psychologists believe that by encouraging parents to use a medical alert system they will more than likely be willing to change their routine and wear the alert pendant or wristband if they feel that they have done this on their own accord.

It may take a parent, falling, having a heart attack or being spooked by burglars. While this is not always the case, it can wake up a stubborn parent who is refusing to have a medical alert system. However, in many cases it may also be necessary for other family members to encourage the parents to have a medical alert system.

Be persistent, caring and patient with your parent with these difficult decisions and it will pay off for both of you in the long run.

Please give us a call if you have any questions about how medical alert systems can work for your situation.  1-800-595-0718

Well, in some states the answer is yes and in other states the answer is no.  You need to check with your local states Medicaid policy.

Just recently a Florida Court Ruled in favor of  Medical Alerts being Covered by  the Medicaid Waiver Program -January 28, 2010

An appellate court in Florida has reaffirmed that a medical alert system must be paid for by the state Agency for Persons with Disabilities in a case of a forty-two year-old woman with spastic cerebral palsy and associated quadriplegia.

Florida Medicaid guidelines:
A personal emergency response system is limited to those recipient’s [sic] who live alone, or who are alone for significant parts of the day, and have no regular caregiver for extended periods of time, and otherwise require extensive routine supervision.

The woman who brought the case had been denied reimbursement, on the basis that she had several caretakers who could be with her approximately 18 hours per day.

I believe that in the near future more state medicaid programs will be supportive of medical alert devices because of the minimal costs as compared to having full round the clock care.  Medical alert systems can be a huge help in alleviating some of the eldercare expenses and also relieve the financial burden of paying for 24/7 care.  While a medical alert system alone may not be appropriate in every situation, it does work extremely well in the right situation.

With the rapidly rising costs in assisted living facilities and eldercare providers, seniors need to take a serious look at having a medical alert system installed in their home.  They provide independence and peace of mind for seniors or persons with disabilities.  Caregivers also find medical alert systems very useful because they are able to feel a sense of relief knowing that their parent or loved one will be safe and secure by having a trusted medical alert provider like MedFirst Alert.

Medical Alert System  Setup:

1. Install the medical alert console in a convenient location
which must be near both a telephone jack and an AC power
outlet. Locating the console in the kitchen and bath areas are
not recommended because of water exposure and appliances
which may give off radio interference.

2. Connect the telephone cord (included) to the
telephone jack on the back of the console marked “LINE”.
Connect the other end of the telephone cord to the wall phone
jack. If you already have a telephone or other phone device
connected at this location connect it to the telephone jack on
the back of the medical alert console marked “PHONE”.

3. Plug in the AC ,adapter to the AC outlet. Caution:
Do not use an outlet which may be turned off by a
wall switch. When the AC adapter is plugged in the system
buzzer will sound briefly indicating the medical alert console is operational and ready to use.

The GREEN Power/Reset button should be lighted
and the RED Emergency button dimly lighted. Reset the
console by pressing the Power/Reset button briefly and the
system buzzer will sound briefly. This is SYSTEM RESET.
You may reset the system in this manner to stop an emergency
report if you accidentally activate the unit.

Notify the monitoring station that setup is complete and
you are preparing to test the system.

IMPORTANT: It is very important that you test your medical alert system and system transmitter on a regular basis. It is recommended that you activate the system every day with the transmitter and reset it immediately to verify the transmitter is working. This is especially important if you wear the transmitter in the shower or bath. Do a range test every month. Call the monitoring station and arrange to do a complete test including the central station connection at least once a month and after any electrical storm with local lightning activity.

Call MedFirst alert if at any time the medical alert system does not test satisfactory.

It is recommended that a combination Telephone
Line/AC Power surge protector be installed with
the console in locations with frequent lightning activity.

Testing the Medical Alert Console

Daily Transmitter Test. To verify that the transmitters are
working once each day while near the console activate the
console using the transmitter and immediately reset the system
by pressing the CREE Power/Reset button.

Monthly Range Test: Press and hold the GREEN Power
reset button. When the button is first pressed the console
buzzer will sound briefly and after about.’) seconds the buzzer
will sound a second time. Release the button after the buzzer
sounds the second time. The system is now in the Range Test
mode.

The medical alert console buzzer will sound each time a signal is
received from a Pendent or Wrist style transmitter. Activate
the transmitter from different locations within the living area
making certain that the transmitter activates the system. Check
all transmitters included with the system. If a transmitter
will not activate the medical alert system from a location in the test mode it will not activate the system from that location in
an emergency. When the range tests are complete press the
GREEN Power/Reset button briefly to reset the system.

NOTE: The medical alert system will not call the monitoring
station while in the Test mode. If you forget to reset the
system the system will automatically reset from the test mode
after a few minutes after you stop testing transmitters.
Monthly Central Station Test: First call the monitoring
station and let them know you are conducting a test. Then
activate the system using the transmitter or by pressing the
RED Emergency button. The system will sound a six second
loud buzzer to confirm it is reporting an emergency. The RED
Emergency button will flash as long as the system is reporting.
The system will dial the monitoring station and automatically connect and report the emergency. This process typically takes bet ween 15 and 45 seconds. When the report is complete the system will reset if two way voice is not part of the system.

If two way voice is provided as part of the system
then the system will go to the voice standby mode and give a
short chirp ever 3 seconds until the monitoring station
operator activates voice communications. The RED Emergency
button will continue to flash as long as the monitoring
station is connected.

Pressing the GREEN Power/Reset button will disconnect or the operator may disconnect remotely. Be certain to notify the monitoring station when you are done testing.

If at anytime you need help connecting your medical alert system, please call us toll free at 1-800-595-0718 we are always more than happy to help.  Your safety and independence are important to us and we want to make sure you are happy with our services.

Medical Alert System Features and Options

Standard Fixed Operation for the MedFirst Medical Alert System

No transmitter loaded notification. The MedFirst Alert system checks the alarm system memory for a transmitter key code. If no transmitter is loaded the medical alert system will report this to our central monitoring station.

Programmable Options

Power Failure reporting: When the power has
been OFF for 1 to 2 hours our medical alert system will contact the
central m0nitoring station and report power failure. Once the system
has reported the power failure when the power returns and has
been on for 1 hour the medical alert system will call and report that the
power has been restored.

Automatic check In: Our medical alert system will automatically
call the monitoring station at fixed intervals. This automatically verifies to the central monitoring station that the console and telephone lines are working. The medical alert system can be set to a period from 1 to 7 days, or 2 or 4 weeks.

Console Transmitter Test. When enabled the user
can press the GREEN Power/Reset button and within the next
5 seconds activates the transmitter. The medical alert system will call the
central monitoring station and report a test code to verify operation. It
is a way to completely test the system without sending an emergency report.

Inactivity Reporting: Time intervals can be set to
OFF, 12, 24, 36 or 48 hours. If the medical alert console is not reset,
activated, or does not receive a signal from an activity detector
motion sensor within the programmed period the system will
call and report inactivity. The console buzzer will sound a
warning sound in advance to remind the user to reset the
system.

Voice operating modes: The medical alert system can be
programed to enable or disable 2 way voice. If voice
operation is turned OFF, the medical alert system will automatically reset
when the digital portion of communication with our central monitoring
station is complete.

When voice is enabled most systems are programed
to switch to voice in the standby mode where neither party can
hear the other and waits for the operator to turn on the voice.

Other modes are programmable. Voice can be opened in either
the microphone or speaker mode or in microphone only mode
for silent operation.

Silent Buzzer. The buzzer Can be turned OFF so
there is no buzzer during emergency calls. The RED Emergency
button will flash.

The MedFirst medical system is easy to use and setup takes less than 5 minutes.  All of the features and benefits described above are preset before they arrive to our customers.

Independence and peace of mind is so important to the seniors who use our system and that’s why our medical alert systems are engineered to exacting standards. If you ever have a problem with one of our medical alert systems, we will replace it free of charge.  Your safety and security is our commitment to you.  Order your medical alert system today from MedFirst Alert.