I'm trying to find a bed alarm of decent quality that pages the caregiver when my mom tries to get out of bed. Anyone have any experience with bed alarms? Which ones work or which ones are cheap crap that dont work?
Thanks,
John Chapman

John -

This particular model circulates within our local support group:

AliMed® Standard Magnetic Pull Cord Alarm
cost is $32

This used to be the link (don't know if it still works now):
http://www.alimed.com/ProductDetail.asp?style=74836

Robin

I'm looking into a bed alarm as well. I found a few on-line by googling "bed alarm" but haven't decided on one yet. One is through Kerr Medical out of Sebastopol, CA. Anyone ever heard of them? It includes an alarm and bed pad, $64.95 with free shipping. The website doesn't say who manufactured it. The company is on Angie's list but I have to join to see any ratings. I'm leery about dealing with an on-line company I haven't heard of. There are others out there more expensive. I like the pad idea rather than the pull cord. I've been referred to the Alzheimer's and Dementia Memory Care Center in Santa Monica for care and support. I'm hoping they will have some suggestions before I actually go out and buy something. If anyone has any other information, please let me know.

All the best,
Terri

Regarding your reluctance to dealing with an online company, does it accept Paypal? If you pay via Paypal, the online company doesn't get to see your credit card information so that reduces your risk. Also I have found Paypal to be very helpful in resolving issues when vendors do not fulfill their promises. And your credit card company should assist you in disputes with vendors where you pay with a credit card--just contact the credit card company promptly. Or check on Amazon to see if Amazon sells the same product. Most often there are customer ratings of the product if it is sold on Amazon, and Amazon is pretty cooperative about defects, returns, etc.

Nothing is perfect but these things help. Having moved from a major metro area out into the sticks, I rely heavily on online shopping and have found it manageable.

Good luck,

Julianne

Julianne,
Great advice on how to buy online.

Terri,
Sorry I can't remeember the brand we had and when my husband passed I sent it along to someone else but I can tell you he found way to get it off and not have alarm sound off, the one we had had a small box with a string type that had a magnet and when the magnet broke away from the box the alarm sounded.

This is the type they use at the SNF and my husband has in his bed. They work very well. I have ordered a lot of supplies from this company but I am not promoting them in any way.
http://www.allegromedical.com/daily-living-aids-c519/pressure-sensitive-patient-alarm-system-p192074.html

I've just ordered one that will go under the rug next to my Dad's bed. When he puts his feet on the rug it will set off an alarm in a wireless receiver that I can put in whichever part of the house I am in. I'll let you know how well that works when it arrives. My Dad can get out of bed ok but then sometimes falls if we don't hear him quick enough and it will also stop us jumping out of bed so many times in the night just because we think we heard him.