It is two in the morning and you are on the phone with a company that wants to sell your father a button on a cord to wear around his neck. The salesperson says it is simple. It may well be. But under the friendly call there is a contract, and that contract decides what happens the first night the button does not work. He will not read it, so you will. Lay the paper flat on the kitchen table and go through it slowly.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
He will say he does not need a button. Let him say it. Then let him try it on, walk to the mailbox with it, and tell you it is a nuisance. That is still the first real test.
Read the equipment line first
Find the section that describes the unit: the base station, the pendant, any wall button, and the charger. Check whether the equipment is rented or sold. If it is rented, find out what you must do to return it when the service ends: which box, which label, how long you have, and whether a pickup is scheduled or you drop it off yourself. A unit left in a closet after the contract ends can turn into a charge nobody expected. Ask who pays to replace a pendant that is lost, dropped in the bathtub, or stops holding a charge.
Ask how the pendant gets its power. Some run on a battery that has to be changed on a schedule. Some charge in a cradle that has to sit near an outlet in the room where he actually sits and sleeps, not the one by the phone. Find out whether the base station needs a working landline or runs on a cellular connection, and whether the cord reaches his chair in the living room.
Find out how the test works
Ask the company to show you a test call before you sign, and ask what the test looks like on their end. Then ask how often they check the unit after installation and whether the check comes to him, to you, or to both. A device nobody tests is only a hope. Write the test schedule on the calendar you keep by the phone, and put a reminder in your own phone for the day it is due.
Check the call list
Every alert service keeps a list of who gets called when the button is pressed. Read that list. Confirm that you are on it, that the order is the one you want, and that each number is one you actually answer, at work and at night. Ask whether the company calls emergency services directly or calls a family member first, and what they do if nobody picks up. Ask what information they keep about the house, such as door codes, where the key is kept, and the names of the neighbors. Those details should be written on the account, not just said on the phone.
Read the exit terms before you need them
This is the part most families skip. Find the length of the agreement, how it renews, how much notice you must give to cancel, and whether leaving early has a cost. Check whether a cancellation has to be in writing or can be made by phone, and whether you are given a confirmation number when you do it. Keep a copy of the signed form, not only the sales summary.
Look at whose name is on the account. If it is your mother's name, or the name was never updated, the company may be talking to a person who no longer runs the household. Ask whether you can be added as a contact who can make changes, and if he agrees, make sure the form allows it.
What to do tonight
Find the paper, or the email with the agreement attached. Gather the equipment line, the test schedule, the call list, and the cancellation notice in one folder. Write three questions on a sticky note: who owns the unit, how do we test it, and how do we cancel. Call the company during business hours and ask them to answer those three questions in writing. If they cannot put the answers in writing, that is an answer in itself.
When to ask his doctor
A button is only useful if the people who know his health agree it is the right tool for the way he moves through the house. Bring a copy of the contract to his next appointment and ask whether a pendant that only waits for a press makes sense for him, or whether a model that responds to a fall might be worth a conversation. The doctor can tell you what he needs. The company can tell you what the button does. Keep those two conversations separate and write down what each one says.
The good-week card
A good week for this paper is one where the button has been tested, the call list is current, and the cancellation rule is written down where you can find it. Add one line to the card: the date of the last test.