What Happens When You Press an Emergency Alert Button?

When you first get a medical alert pendant or wristband, you get the great peace of mind of knowing that help is just a single button press away. And then you can rest easy knowing that help will come whenever you need it. But how often do we think about those who come to us in a true emergency after we press the button alarm? These are the emergency medical service workers who arrive quickly when you need them most.

National EMS Week is fast approaching, and we are honoring the first responders, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, nurses, firefighters, law enforcement officials, and more who might answer your call for help.

Who Are Emergency Services?

The 2020 National EMS Assessment found that there are over a million licensed EMS professionals in the United States; this number includes paid and volunteer workers, like emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics. Of those workers, 219,000 of them were full-time, paid employees. That means that the majority of EMS professionals are volunteers.¹

These professionals carry a heavy load. Local EMS agencies around the nation respond to 28.5 million dispatches through 911 every year (and that’s not including calls from other agencies or direct calls from individuals). They use almost 73,500 ground vehicles to respond to those emergencies. More than 750 of those agencies and services are licensed to fly patients from the site of an emergency to an appropriate place for critical care.² From the volunteer professional who shows up when the call comes in and does the initial assessment to the highly-trained paramedics and nurses ready to assist in transporting a patient via air, these individuals might be there to care for you during some of the worst moments of your life.

Fortunately, these professionals work in tandem with Alert1 to help get you the care you need, when you need it. It all starts by pressing the button on your medical alert device when you have an emergency.

When You Press the Emergency Help Button

When you experience an emergency, your medical alert device ready to summon help. Simply press it to connect with a trained professional at our Command Center. How does this work, exactly? Medical alert technology meant for in-home use comes with a base station that sits in a central location in your home. When you press the alert pendant, the base station connects to the Command Center. The professional on the other end of the line can speak with you through the base station. The emergency medical alert works at a range of up to 600 feet from the base unit, which is quite a long distance – longer than two football fields!

If you have an on-the-go medical alert pendant, the speaker to communicate with the Command Center is built right into the device. When you press the button, a professional from the Command Center answers in seconds and begins determining what assistance you might need. And “on the go” truly means just that – Alert1 covers all 50 states through the use of AT&T and Verizon networks. We also offer coverage in Canada and Puerto Rico.

In addition to med alert pendants, Alert1 also offers medical alert wristbands. And if you are worried about falling down and being unable to use your emergency response solution for any reason, our medical alert systems with fall detection can help with peace of mind. The fall detection systems have tiny fall sensors that can sense if a fall has occurred. The medical alert device will then automatically send an alert for help, even if you cannot press the button.

The Command Center

The agents in the Command Center are trained to help you with any emergency that might arise. When you use your medical alarm, you are connected with a trained professional who has completed required training from The Monitoring Association. Our Command Center receives regular inspections from Underwriters Laboratory and is 5 Diamond Certified by The Monitoring Association. In other words, you can be rest assured that you will be assisted by world class professionals at any time, around the clock, 24/7.

When that professional does answer your call – which happens seconds after you press the help button – your agent will get to work. They will ask you what is happening and what kind of assistance you need. Even if you can’t speak, they will send help. They will also stay on the line with you until they are certain that help has arrived. And of course, if it is a true emergency that neighbors, friends, or family members in your personalized contacts list can’t help you with, they will send emergency services to your door immediately.

What Happens if I Can’t Answer the Door?

If you are experiencing an emergency and cannot get to the door, how can help get into the house? We offer a lockbox you can attach to the outside of your home, similar to those reliably used by real estate agents across the country. Simply put a spare key in the lockbox and close it up. Alert1 will have your code on file, and we will relay this code to those on your contacts list or to emergency services.

Though you can always hide a key and let us know the location of that key, keep in mind that this might not be as reliable as a lockbox. A hidden key could easily be lost or stolen, or you might forget where you hid the key. You might also not be able to describe the location accurately if you are in pain, disoriented, or injured from a fall.

When Emergency Services Arrives

Alert1 will send emergency services to you when needed. Often the people who show up at your doorstep will include paramedics and EMTs. The paramedics are the more highly trained professionals who can administer drugs, monitor the heart, and perform advanced lifesaving techniques; the EMTs, or emergency medical technicians, are those who can offer strong support to the paramedics, including helping to lift individuals on gurneys, providing basic life support, and administering basic medications. Anyone who works in EMS is well-trained to take a good patient history, assess the situation, and handle issues with airway management.³

There might be other emergency services that show up as well. This can include fire departments or law enforcement. Emergency medical services will usually arrive in a fully-equipped ambulance with two or three personnel. Whether they show up with lights and sirens depends upon the situation and the policy in your local area^.4

When they use the lockbox to get the key and come inside, the National Federation of the Blind reports that EMS workers will start doing the following immediately:

·        Asking a lot of questions. Expect many questions about you and your medical history, from your age to what medications you are taking. There will be questions about allergies, the name of your doctor, and what exactly happened that led to you pressing the panic button.

·        Performing a physical examination. An EMS worker will do a brief physical examination. They will look over any areas of injury, such as bruises and bumps from a fall, or determine if anything is broken. They will also make note of any medical alert bracelets or other items that help them understand your physical condition and history. Very Well Health notes that EMS workers will likely know just how serious things are simply by looking at you as they come through the door – they are trained to spot the smallest signs of distress and understand what they mean.

·        Beginning appropriate treatment. The treatment you receive depends greatly on what has happened to you. If you have fallen in the shower, the EMS workers will gently move you to an area where they can examine you to determine what injuries you sustained. If you are having chest pains, they might begin monitoring your heart. If you are having trouble breathing, you might receive oxygen or intravenous fluids.

·        Preparing for transport. Though EMS workers can exam, support, and treat you to some extent right where you are, they are also preparing to transport you to the closest medical facility that can handle whatever has happened to you. In many cases, EMS can take you to the hospital you choose, though that might not be the case in a true emergency when you need to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. In that case, you might be taken to the closest medical facility.⁵

While you are waiting for medical services to arrive, the professionals in Alert1’s Command Center will stay on the line with you. They will ask you how you are feeling and for any other information that they can relay to those who are coming to assist you.

It will help a great deal if you have previously taken the time to write down what medications you are on, any medical conditions you might have, names and numbers of people to contact if you are transported to the hospital, etc., and sent that information to Alert1 to keep on file. EMS workers often look at the refrigerator to see if any lists like this are posted there, as well.

If you are faced with an emergency, never hesitate to use your Alert1 Medical Alert to get the help you need as soon as you need it. We’ll engage your emergency contacts or highly-trained emergency personnel who will come to your aid immediately, so you will never face an emergency alone.