Alzheimer’s Safety Devices
Senior safety is a concern for many family members who have elderly loves ones struggling in the twilight of their lives. But did you know there are safety devices now that can help make the situation easier for families? For example, personal GPS trackers that can monitor seniors struggling with signs and symptoms of memory-related degenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Concerned families who want to take every possible measure to enhance the personal safety of their elderly family members are now seeing GPS tech as a way to increase personal safety. Combine that need for additional family security with the fact the cost of personal tracker devices are more affordable and easier to operate, and the end result is is a boom in the consumer market for elderly personal GPS tracking systems. This article will discuss some of the features and benefits of tracking devices for senior safety.
Personal GPS Bracelets: How They Help Seniors
One of the primary things family members are scared of is having an elderly loved one with memory illness wander off or become lost. Every year horror stories about a senior with signs of Alzheimer’s wandering off unattended into the night make the news. Sometimes law enforcement are able to find these missing seniors and take them back to their homes or living facilities safely, but other times these stories end in tragedy. Especially, during the cold Winter months where freezing temperatures can have a fatal impact on any person wandering outside without proper attire. This is why GPS monitoring bracelets can be a viable asset to any family looking to safeguard a senior.
According to the security experts at Tracking System Direct, when a GPS monitoring bracelet is attached to a person, a real-time GPS tracker will send out live locational data that can be viewed remotely by family members. Family members, regardless of where they are located, can access this live GPS tracking system data via the online mapping program. The data is displayed over a mapping program such as Google Earth, providing real-time positional information on where a senior is located at any given time. This same senior tracking system will also offer historical data, showcasing information about everywhere that senior was at throughout the day or the week.
GPS bracelets for senior monitoring come in two different forms. The first GPS bracelet design allows the user to remove the device with no hassle, whereas the other tracker device requires a caregiver or family member to remove the locking mechanism.
Top Features Of Senior Tracker Devices
The two features that draw most families into investing in real-time tracking solutions are the panic SOS alerts and geographical fencing alerts. Panic alerts are the most requested feature on any elderly tracking device because this allows a senior to instantly call for help if they are lost, injured or in need of any personal assistance. This particular feature is great for those seniors with a poor medical history that might need to quickly notify authorities for any particular health reason, allowing medical personnel to respond in a timely fashion.
The second feature of the real time GPS that families investing in a senior GPS tracker device look for is geographical fencing. Also known as geo-fencing, this feature allows a family member to create a virtual boundary around the elderly family member’s home, board-in care or other location they may stay frequently. When the senior enters or leaves that particular region, a text message and/or email is sent to as many family members are placed on the contact list, notifying them that grandma or grandpa have breached the boundary created. This is a wonderful feature for families dealing with a senior who has a tendency to wander or go for long walks.
By offering real-time access to the whereabouts of an elderly loved one, giving that senior a way to instantly alert authorities and having the option to set virtual boundaries, GPS bracelets are helping keep senior citizens safe while also bringing peace of mind to families all across the globe!
Alzheimer’s Safety Tips
Through medical advances and higher standards of living, people are living longer now than at any other time in history. Living a longer life certainly is a great thing, but with age can also come an increase in age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s or Dementia. These particular memory degenerative conditions can lead to a serious problem simply known as wandering. Wandering actually results in death for many senior citizens every single year, and what’s even worst is that diligent care-giving sometimes isn’t enough to prevent seniors from wandering. In an effort to bring senior safety to the forefront, here are some tips to help reduce the potential for seniors to wander.
One of the most important steps to reduce wandering is through the development of a daily routine. We are all creatures of habit and routines are crucial in establishing not only structure but in essence a daily plan. The daily plans can be as simple as a schedule for eating, personal activities, and sleep to something much more on a micro-level. Daily plans should include some form of exercise as medical studies have shown increased activity can have a positive impact on a person’s stress level, anger management, sleep patterns and more. Daily plans or schedules should also have time allocated for basic needs such as bathroom breaks, which can be more easily timed through a structured food schedule.
Seniors facing memory-related challenges can oftentimes feel confused or disoriented at times, and that is why it is important to avoid locations or places that can be overwhelming. A short trip to a busy grocery store or public event can sometimes be simply too many stimuli for a senior to take in and that is why public outings should be planned in advance with the person coordinating the trip taking special consideration to the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of the senior they are caring for.
Daily schedules and planning ahead for outings can all help reduce the possibility of wandering, but one of the more simplistic things families or caregivers can do to increase safety is by providing quality supervision. Supervision in terms of monitoring seniors is as easy as making certain elderly loved ones with Alzheimer’s or dementia are never left alone in a motor vehicle or home, that car keys are kept out of visual sight and that door locks are not in plain view. Organizations that deal specifically with helping those with memory-related illnesses recommend that door locks be kept high where a senior cannot easily see or manipulate locks.
Another method of increased supervision that has been on the rise lately is through the use of senior GPS tracking systems. Some GPS monitoring companies offer tracker device bracelets that provide real-time GPS data so family members or caregivers can instantly locate a senior the moment they are thought to be missing. This is critical in the quick and safe recovery of a wandering elderly person. However, it is important to note that if a senior is determined to be missing that search effort commences immediately. This is because most wandering seniors are found within two (2) miles of the location they were thought to have disappeared from. If the senior is not located within 15 minutes it is also recommended that proper authorities are notified that a vulnerable adult is missing and possibly wandering. If the senior is not wearing a real time GPS unit it is recommended that the senior then at least be equipped with some form of identification jewelry that will allow authorities to make appropriate contact with those in the care of the senior.
There are a lot of great resources available through reputable agencies and organizations that can provide even more tips on helping prevent seniors from wandering. These agencies include the Alzheimer’s Organization, Alzheimer’s Association, and others. These agencies have great online articles that can be viewed at no cost that has very helpful information. Any families or caregivers working hands-on with a wandering senior should take a moment to reach out to these agencies for further education.
Best Elderly GPS Tracking Bracelet
As we think about the process of aging and living in our golden years, oftentimes we think about who will take care of us if we are unable to effectively care for ourselves. Of course, personal safety and health is an important topic for all seniors, but with debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia increasing in prevalence among the elderly population, even more focus and attention must be made on senior safety. This is because there is a significant increase in the probability of developing a memory-related illness as one becomes older, and people are living longer now than at any other time throughout the history of man. Therefore, senior safety is something that should concern all of us because it is something that all of us will have to deal with in some aspect of our lives at some point in the future. Thankfully, monitoring elderly driving activity and possible wandering is something families can do more effectively now due to the rapidly evolving technology of GPS bracelets for Alzheimer’s patients.
Elderly GPS tracking is a relatively new concept that has grown in frequency with the accelerated development of consumer personal tracking systems. When GPS monitoring technology first made its debut on the consumer market it came in the form of vehicle tracking applications designed to help businesses understand where employees were going while using company automobiles. However, as the technology of global positioning devices advanced, becoming more compact, affordable and user-friendly, the market for such devices began to expand to more niche applications such teen driving, outdoor recreational geo-caching, and senior safety
GPS Tracking Device Senior Citizens
When a family begins to recognize the signs of memory-related illness such as Dementia they typically begin researching the various tools on the market that help make life easier and safer for the seniors suffering with degenerative disease. One of the most popular tools that people have been calling upon to boost the safety of the elderly has been real-time GPS solutions. The reason for the increase in usage of GPS devices to monitor seniors is because the technology can offer families real-time access to the comings and goings of a person who may be experiencing difficulties with recall. The technology can be used in two different ways, 1) to observe auto-related movements, and 2) to observe physical movements.
Tracking Seniors Every Move
Probably the most common way people monitor senior driving, the practice of car tracking refers to family members installing a live GPS tracker to the electrical 12-volt system of the automobile that is operated by the senior with difficulties with memory. The real-time GPS data from the tracker is transmitted over a collection of cellular communication networks and towers, allowing anyone from the family to identify where the senior is located. The data, which is accessible both by the Internet and mobile phone, also includes historical information that will pinpoint popular spots the senior frequents as well as if the senior is traveling erratically through a familiar neighborhood. The GPS can also send out alerts via text message telling family members if a senior under GPS observation has left any pre-set “safe zones”.
Get more information on what to do if you think a senior is unfit to drive by clicking here!
Personal Tracking Device For Elderly
The same way that some companies are equipping security guards and security professionals with GPS systems to observe personal movements, families are to make certain that their loved ones are being safe. A measure that is more evasive than hard-wiring a GPS to an automobile, by requiring a senior to carry a personal tracker in their possession in the same way people carry a cellular phone, family members can have 24/7 oversight on locational data of a senior. This is extremely helpful for those living at in-care facilities who have a tendency to wander and escape from care-facility grounds.
Before investing in a real-time GPS monitoring solution or surveillance device for senior tracking, families should speak with not only each other but licensed medical doctors and GPS fleet tracking specialists to discover if live monitoring is something that would work for them. Each families’ and seniors’ needs are different, but with the support of family and technology, hopefully, we can make the world a little safer for those suffering from memory-related problems.
