Life Alert is a medical industry leader and has been in business since 1987; they are often the first brand name consumers think of when they hear the term medical alert system. When most people think of Life Alert devices for seniors, this is the company that comes to mind thanks to their classic marketing campaign. 

 

Life Alert claims on their website that they help a senior’s life from a catastrophe every 11 minutes. Headquartered in Encino, California, they employ over 600 people and receives around 2 million calls a year. This makes Life Alert almost twice the size of most medical alert companies. 

 

There are three primary system types that Life Alert offers: 

 

  • Life Alert In-Home System: an in-home system that you can choose to use a landline phone or cellular service

 

  • Life Alert In-Home System with Help Button: an in-home that does not require a landline telephone and can use cellular service instead. It includes a waterproof HELP button that is specially designed for emergencies that occur in the bathroom. The button never needs charging and can last up to 10 years. According to Life Alert, over 80% of emergency calls happen in the bathroom.  

 

  • Life Alert In-Home Help Button and Life Alert Mobile: all the protection of the Life Alert in-home system and Help button plus Life Alert Mobile for on the go coverage. It uses GPS location services to help pinpoint your location in an emergency. 

 

Life Alert’s website lists the following Protection Services that they offer; while most are available with all medical alert systems, Life Alert takes the time to explain how each feature could be used in real-life situations.

 

  • Medical Emergencies: This requires the use of a medical alert base-station and a pendant or watch button at your home. This is the cornerstone of a traditional in-home medical alert system. 

 

  • Shower Emergencies: A large wireless add-on help button that can be mounted in the shower, tub, near a toilet, or anywhere within the medical alert base-stations range. 

 

  • Life Alert Mobile: There are two versions of this service: Mobile + GPS—this is an emergency button that you can carry with you to alert the monitoring center that you need help and can also help them locate you using GPS location services. You can’t speak to the monitoring center like you can with an in-home system, but it will give you protection when you’re on the go or out of range of your in-home system. If you’re using your smartphone or a basic cell phone, Life Alert will give you a phone number that you can then pre-program into your cell phone’s speed-dial feature to connect you directly to their alert monitoring center. Caller-ID from your cell phone can help to identify you with the dispatch center, and if you have a smartphone, Life Alert has a mobile app that can be used to connect you to the monitoring center as well.