Recently, we were able to catch up with some of the students from Mary Baudo’s A Matter Of Balance class which was offered by the Foundation.

“I loved this class — no equipment required — all you need is a dining room chair! I have already made improvements to my lifestyle to extend my life: removed throw rugs, bought new shoes, purchased a lightweight solid stepladder, put numbers on my house, extra railings, and placed the File of Life on my refrigerator. I am drinking lots more water to avoid leg cramps and am walking when I can,” said Susan Katzev. 

Alice Grant said: “What I liked about the class, believe it or not, were the exercises. At first they seemed difficult but with time I got better at them. As my balance kept improving, I felt more confidence. I learned how to prevent myself from putting myself in harm’s way.” 

Connie Machon took the class so that she would have better balance in her tap-dancing class.

“To get good balance you need to strengthen the body,” she said, and added “I would take this class again in a heartbeat!” All of the students said Mary Baudo is an excellent teacher and what they learned was valuable to their quality of life. The Foundation plans to offer this class again in the fall.

Medical alert systems: Are you connected?

During a recent “A Matter of Balance” course where the main focus is to prevent falls from occurring by working on balance, strength, flexibility, and behavior modification the topic of medical alert systems came up.

No matter what one’s age, at some point, people do and will fall. The leading cause of accidental death for older people is complications related to falling. 

For those who live alone or who spend a lot of time alone, falling can be a major issue. If one falls and does not have the strength to get up or is injured and can’t get up there is a risk for complications.

Advances in technology have provided many benefits including medical alert programs. Many of you have seen these products advertised on TV or in magazines. In the course we talked about systems that either class participants used or those they knew about.

Some people had no system in place or others have cell phones they keep on their person at all times. Whatever avenue you do end up choosing you should be aware of what your options are and, most importantly, that they meet your specific needs.

According to a Consumer Reports article dated July 2014, the best medical alert systems should have and meet the following criteria: 

1. It should work for a user’s specific disability
2. It offers a choice of a wristband and or a neck pendant
3. It includes help buttons that can be wall mounted near the floor in multiple rooms in case the person isn’t wearing the pendants 
4. It offers multiple choices for whom the call center contacts in an emergency

It has a battery backup

The base station can be contacted from anywhere on your property including the yard or mailbox

The company has its own monitoring center in the U.S. and the operators are emergency trained

The monitoring center has been certified by Underwriters Laboratories, a nonprofit safety and consulting company

When choosing the right medical alert system, there are other factors that also need to be considered:

1. What can you afford? Most range in price from $20 dollars up to $35 for landlines and $33 to $42 dollars for cell phones. There is an additional cost for GPS features.

2. Does it have a range that meets your needs or will you need additional mounts in your home or GPS?

3. Does it have automatic fall detection? If you can’t push the button or make a call from a cell phone what will happen?

4. Is it waterproof? Many falls happen in the bathroom.

5. Does it have a two way voice technology?

6. Does it have a contract, activation fee and or a cancellation fee?

Many organizations such as AARP and the National Institute on Aging recommend seniors of any age have one of these devices. Especially for individuals who live alone or whose spouse or care taker is often away from the home for hours at a time. It will give your care takers and loved ones peace of mind and for you it will help provide a way to manage the risks associated with falling.

For more information about this topic, contact Mary Baudo at marybaudo@msn.com.