One of the greatest fears of many people, young or old, is being alone in the event of an emergency. “What if I am unable to call for help? What if no one finds me for days?” These are some of the thoughts we have all had from time to time. But what about the elderly, for whom such an incident is more likely than for a healthy, younger person? Setting up emergency help should be a priority for all seniors.

The most obvious and effective way to make sure you get emergency help is to have a medical alert system. In the event of a medical emergency, help will be on the way with a simple press of a button on your medical pendant. It is as simple as that.

There are many ways to set up your system to ensure a level of emergency help with which you are comfortable. For example, it can be arranged that if you do indeed have an emergency, the operator at the central monitoring facility will call pre-determined family members, friends or neighbors to come and help you. Sometimes all you need is a familiar face to be there and hold your hand.

You can also have the monitoring center call you on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis to make sure you are all right. If for some reason there is no response, emergency help will be sent to your residence right away.

But not everyone has the money for a medical alert system. That’s okay — you can still do some of these things on your own. You can have a neighbor who comes to check on you every day, just to make sure everything is okay. Or you could have a friend or family member call you daily. This way, if you do not answer, they can come to your house and find out if anything is wrong.

Whatever method you choose, you should make sure you have a system set up for emergency help.