Bay Alarm Medical On-The-Go GPS Help Button Review

The Bay Alarm Medical On-the-Go GPS Help Button is a wearable device for people who are mobile yet fear falling or have other health problems that could suddenly require emergency assistance.

To call for help, you press the large “HELP” button on the flat surface of the device, which uses AT&T’s 4G LTE cellular service to call a Bay Alarm Medical monitoring center. Once connected, a trained dispatcher speaks to you through the two-way speaker on the device, asking if you need help. If you do, they contact 911 to dispatch a local EMS team. The device’s GPS connectivity makes it possible for the dispatcher to see—and tell the 911 operator—your exact location.

The device comes with a small charger, and a loud, automated voice alerts you when the battery is running low.

Bay Alarm Medical also provides  instructions for setting up the Caregiver Tracking App, which allows another person to pinpoint the location of the device—a plus if, for instance, the person wearing the device is at risk of wandering.

I tested the Bay Medical On-the-Go GPS Help Button in my home, in the parking lot of a nearby store and on a hiking trail in a mountainous park. Each time a dispatcher connected and spoke to me within seconds.

However, there were two drawbacks. First, if I needed help in an apartment building, the GPS signal couldn’t determine which apartment I was in. I’d need to be able to share that information verbally. Second, if I needed help in an area with weak or no cell reception, the device could not connect to a Bay Alarm Medical dispatcher.

Using an accelerometer and impact sensors, this button is able to detect when the person wearing the device falls, automatically calling a dispatcher for assistance. Each year, millions of older adults suffer a fall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), often resulting in hip fractures or head injuries. And falling once doubles the chance that you will fall again. For these reasons, automatic fall detection is a very helpful feature of medical alert devices.

I simulated a fall in my home on a weekend. In less than 15 seconds, a dispatcher spoke to me through the two-way speaker on the device and asked if I needed help. After verifying my identity and confirming again I didn’t need help, the dispatcher signed off.

Had the dispatcher been unable to get a verbal response from me—if I’d lost consciousness or had a condition like dementia—they would have called the cell phone number I provided when I first set up my account with Bay Alarm Medical. If I didn’t answer that cell phone call, they would have then alerted 911 and shared the GPS location of my device.

Note: Physical jolts can set off the automatic fall detection component. While getting into my car, I tossed my purse onto the passenger seat, forgetting the button was in a side pocket. The automated voice promptly said a fall had been detected and, within a few seconds. a dispatcher asked if I needed help. When I explained what happened, she said false alarms happen often with the fall detection feature.

This device is very easy to use. An obvious indentation about the size of a big thumb print on the flat surface with the word “HELP” printed on it makes it clear what and where to press in case of an emergency.

One slight drawback: If you press the button by accident, there’s no way to cancel the call to the monitoring center. You have to wait for the dispatcher to connect and explain no help is needed to end the call.

I pressed the “HELP” button four times at different times of day—both on the weekend and during the week. In each instance, a dispatcher connected with me through the two-way call function within 15 seconds and asked me several times if I needed help.

Had I not been able to speak, the default protocol, according to Bay Alarm Medical, is for the dispatcher to call 911.

The device is small enough to be worn comfortably around the neck on the accompanying adjustable lanyard, although I found it unattractive. Luckily, the device also comes with a small black holder that clips unobtrusively onto a waistband, leaving an opening for the speaker.

Yes, it’s wearable, but if you’re already keeping track of a cell phone, keys and reading glasses, the device can be one more “thing” to remember to charge and put on—so it’s also easy to forget. (But that’s true of most mobile medical alert devices.)

Bay Alarm Medical charges a $99 equipment purchase fee and $24.95 a month for the live monitoring subscription. The automatic fall detection function is optional and costs an additional $10 a month.

It’s important to read the cancellation policy carefully. To cancel your subscription, you must call Bay Alarm Medical directly (the number is provided on the company’s website and instruction materials). Cancellations aren’t final until all equipment is returned, and you will be refunded the equipment fee only if it’s returned within the 30-day trial period.

Bay Alarm Medical also offers an In-Home Solution. This system features a base station designed to sit on a counter or table that transmits alerts from the user—who can be as far as three football fields away, according to a Bay Alarm Medical representative—wearing an emergency button device on a lanyard or wristband.

The company offers wall buttons as well. These buttons can be placed in common fall areas, such as the bathroom or next to the bed. They connect directly to the home system in the way the wearable emergency button does.

For active people, the Bay Alarm Medical SOS SmartWatch uses cellular service to connect the user with a dispatcher wherever they are. It also features a built-in step tracker.

Bay Alarm Medical offers bundle packages that include several of these devices.

The Bay Alarm Medical On-The-Go GPS Help Button is small, simply designed and easy to use. Even better, the response times to my calls were so quick that it gave me a real sense of confidence in the system’s ability to provide emergency help rapidly and effectively when needed.

• Product Weight: 1.8 oz
• Product Dimensions: 2.75 x 1.75 x .7 in
• Material(s): Water-resistant plastic
• Features: Two-way voice system
• Connectivity: AT&T 4G LTE cellular network with nationwide coverage
• Battery Life: Up to 72 hours

Sources

• On the Go HELP Button. Bay Alarm Medical. Accessed 4/24/2021.
• Home and Recreation Safety. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed 4/24/2021.