Caregivers must react quickly to their patients’ needs. When a patient slips, falls or needs assistance, it’s hard for caregivers to meet their needs. Understaffed and overworked, caregivers need help knowing when a patient is in need.
A call button for elderly patients is the key to prompt assistance when patients need it most.
Caregiver call buttons
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These call buttons help when:
1. Patients Fall
A necklace button is the ideal choice for a mobile patient who may fall in the breezeway of his or her apartment or even in the bathroom. Slips and falls are extreme dangers for older patients, and this can lead to:
- Concussions
- Spinal cord injuries
- Brain injuries
- Broken bones
Falls cause around 9,500 deaths per year among the elderly in the United States. Statistics also show that 50% of people over 80 fall every year.
The problem for caregivers, even when tending to just one patient, is that falls in other rooms or even behind doorways can go unheard. It’s possible to overlook calls for help, especially if the individual is severely injured.
A call button for elderly patients allows you to quickly react to slips and falls to ensure that the patient receives fast medical treatment.
2. Patients Need to Get to the Bathroom
Loss of mobility and aging can cause incontinence and result in embarrassing episodes for an elderly individual. You’ll find that patients don’t want to make a mess of themselves. Instead, everyone wants to be able to get up and go to the bathroom on their own.
But this isn’t always a possibility for an elderly person with limited mobility.
Call buttons allow the person to:
- Get the attention of the caregiver
- Have a “voice” that’s easily heard
- Maintain confidence
Elderly patients lose their confidence when they’re not able to care for themselves properly. The ability to ask for help when going to the bathroom is an integral part of quality of life. This small change can help patients regain confidence and lessen depression.
3. General Assistance
Patients often need general assistance, and calls for a nurse or caregiver can go unheard. The great thing about a caregiver button is that it can be used to call for help at any time. It’s simple and easy to ask for help.
And a few of the times when a patient may need help are:
- Going to the bathroom
- Falling
- Pain or other symptoms arise
- Repositioning is needed
- They’re hungry
There are a lot of circumstances when a person may need help, but their voice goes unheard. Even people who can’t speak for themselves, like those with breathing tubes or another breathing device, can ask for help by using a caregiver button.
A button will give everyone a voice so that the patient is able to get the help they need. Caregivers will enjoy lower risks of liability, and patients are more comfortable and better taken care of on their watch.
It’s a win-win for all parties involved.
Benefits of Using an Emergency Call Button
Call buttons are a great addition to every patient and caregiver. These buttons offer several benefits to both parties involved, including:
- Long range. The right alert system can alert a caregiver up to 150 feet or more away, depending on the model. A long range system means that even if a caregiver is nowhere in the vicinity, they’ll be alerted that a patient needs help.
- Ease of use. Buttons and pagers are so easy to use that anyone can operate then. Even with limited function in the hands, a person will be able to squeeze these buttons or hit them to ask for help. There’s no complicated fiddling with buttons or intercom systems to try and ask for assistance.
- Fewer incidents. I was in the hospital once, and when I hit the call button, no one came for over 20 minutes. I was in an emergency situation, and I could have died under the right conditions. A personal pager or call button would have eliminated this scary situation. Every day, incidents occur because caregivers can’t hear calls for help. Call buttons lower the frequency of these incidents, ensuring maximum safety for the patient.
- Multiple options. Necklaces, doorbells and other options exist that allow a person to quickly and accurately call for help. These options may seem irrelevant, but they allow call buttons to be used by a wider range of users and make safety a top priority.
- Affordable. Safety doesn’t need to be expensive. Caregiver pagers are very affordable. You’ll be able to purchase one of these models for less than a dinner for two, and it’s all in the name of safety. If you haven’t purchased a caregiver button due to cost concerns, you’ll love the two models mentioned below.
Call buttons are all about the patient and ensuring that they get the help they need promptly. The benefits are definitely impressive, and a lot of companies have capitalized on the market, which has increased the number of models available.
I’ve had the pleasure of researching a few call buttons that are well-rated and come with must-have features that enhance the safety of the patient.
Our Top 2 Choices for Emergency Call Buttons
1. Smart Caregiver Two Call Buttons
- 2 AA batteries for the pager
- 2, 12V batteries for the buttons
But don’t worry, the company includes the initial batteries you need to start using your call buttons.
The pager can easily clip to a person’s belt or pocket, and two audible alarms allow the caregiver to react accordingly to the call button being sounded. The devices can be as far as 150 feet apart with a 75 dB sound level.
Average battery life is 720 hours, or around one month.
Click here to view pricing and availability of the Smart Caregiver Pager and call buttons
?2. SadoTech Necklace Caregiver Call Button
There’s also a:
- Pager
- Medical alert system
The receiver can choose among 32 different sound options, and there are three volume levels ranging from 50 dB to 80 dB.
The unit will chime 52 times so that help is always given enough time to be alerted to a potential problem. Unobtrusive and easy to use, this model activates with a simple squeeze of side buttons and doesn’t require excessive strength to work properly.
Click here to view pricing and availability of the SadoTech Necklace Caregiver Call Button
Both call buttons offer ample sound levels and ranges. SadoTech’s model is a good choice for elderly patients because of the necklace that sits around the user’s neck. Even just a weak grip will allow the wearer to alert their caregiver and receive the help they need.
Smart Caregiver is another great option with a long battery life and a pager system. The great thing is that there are two buttons, so the patient can place a button in two different rooms and access them when help is needed.
