Where's the Panic Pendant?

The problem with a panic pendant ("PERS," or Personal Emergency Response System) is the disabled and elderly generally dislike having them hanging from their neck-- or simply forget. Worse, they've put it somewhere...and cannot find it.

Further, the person who can push the PERS button is probably at least somewhat OK.

Better are technologies that do NOT require changes to the way humans tend to-- or like to-- behave. Thus, the idea behind Alarm.com's new "Up & About" feature announced yesterday: The caregiver sets a rule in the Alarm.com web dashboard, with just a few quick mouseclicks-- if their charge is not up and moving around by say 10 a.m. each day (say the tracking window is 6 a.m. - 10 a.m.), they get an instant email and/or cell phone message. The Alarm.com system's one or more motion detectors can sense activity...and the ABSENCE of activity.

This is a very powerful feature for "private" caregivers that are taking care of siblings, parents, children, other relatives or friends, or social workers/nurses et al who are in the "public domain" and are serving residents.

A PERS cannot help the person who needs it the most-- the man or woman who has not gotten up and out of bed, or has passed out. But motion detectors are always watching....