Is there a lot of equipment involved?

The Lifeline equipment installed consists of two pieces. The unit that sits on a table in the home, and the Personal Help Button the subscriber should wear at all times when at home. The unit has two cords that go from the rear of the machine. One cord plugs into the telephone line and one into a electrical outlet. The PHB is programmed via a frequency to the unit. Every time it is pushed the frequency activates the unit to transmit a signal via the telephone line direct to the monitoring station.

Do I have to be in the same room as the communicator for it to work?

The installer will do a range test when he is installing the unit. He will go throughout the residence and then outside in the yard, down to the mailbox etc. This will identify to the subscriber how far the PHB signal will transmit to the unit. In the residence, it should work throughout unless there is some structural interference.

How can I be sure that the Lifeline equipment is working?

The Personal Help Buttons are good for 5 years, a date of expiry appears on the back. A back-up battery in the communicator(Lifeline unit) automatically switches on if the hydro fails, and they are good for approximately 20 hours. The subscriber would not be aware of the battery working, however if it is in use and starting to get low, as well as the same for the PHB battery, a silent alarm will notify the monitoring staff that they will need replacing soon.

When the unit receives a signal from the PHB to call the hospital monitoring center, the unit will start to beep and the yellow Reset will light up. On the newer voice assurance style communicators, some preprogrammed message will be given. Such as "Thank You" when the reset is pushed. "Help Needed In Progress" when the PHB has been pushed and the call is on the way to the monitoring center. "Away" when the subscriber is going away for overnight or longer and "Welcome Home" when they return and reset the unit. All of these assure that your Lifeline equipment is working properly.

Is the Personal Help Button usable around water?

The PHB's are waterproof and we encourage people to wear them in the shower, and bath as this is where a large percentage of falls occur.