I'm in search for a medical alert system that would contact me and other family members that won't have monthly fees and isn't costly. Any suggestions?

My mother has a V-tech phone system. It came with a regular land line phone with answering machine/cordless phone, and a pendent that she wears. it does not call out if she should fall... but it allows her to call 911 or me, if she needs help and she does not have to run to answer the phone, resulting in a possible fall. It cost about 120.00, and no monitoring fee as it is not monitored, just allows her to wear a phone around the house so its always in reach. It works well.

My mom has a freedom alert pendant. It cost about $200 but has no monthly fee. You have to program in the numbers for it to call.

If your mom is on medicaid, they may provide a system free of charge.

We have a Freedom alert pendant that my dad wore around his neck until we had to put him in the nursing home for skilled nursing care. You can program 5 numbers in it with the last one being 911. It worked really well with no monthly charges. I would be willing to sell it at a reasonable price if you’re interested.

When you find one let me know. I've checked several and they are out of our price range, especially the ones who contact emergency systems when a person falls. That's and extra $10 over the 30 for the monthly fee. I wanted one to get out for about an hour, leaving him alone but he was on the floor when I got home. Can't leave him alone any more.

Here is another idea If your parent is still mentally capable of talking and not too far advanced with any major problem and if you are computer savvy, this Alexa thing will call numbers if you command it the numbers are set up on the phone you set it up with etc. - i.e. you can say call rescue, call Henry, etc. via speaker - requiring only voice command. I am aware there are problems with that such as if you fall and hit your head and pass out etc. and everyone is on a different needs level. It used to be great in our original situation but for us, mother will not remember to use it and her dementia is too far along. Also what used to be good for us was the telephones you can get from ILA that has a one button alert to call 911 or other people. They have some interesting options I found, can look online Independent Living Aids for different things that may meet your needs

I got one for my Mom on Amazon, I think it was under $50, It uses a home phone line hers is hooked up to her VOIP line but a regular land-line is great too and you can program the numbers you want it to call in the order you want. So we have it set to dial my brother first (he lives closest) then my cell, then my home and it it continues to rotate through those numbers until someone answers. You need to press a button when you answer so it knows it got a real person and not voice mail otherwise it hangs up and moves on to the next number. You can include 911 in the series or simply have it call only 911, it tells the operator or person answering the phone what to do and I forget now but I think it can be set up a little differently for just 911 if you choose too. But the pendant she wears has a 2 way speaker so when she pushes the button and I answer for instance she can talk to me without having to do anything else. The range on it is really good too, she can be out in the yard and it still works we tested it both when she was living at my brothers (where she was when we first got it) and then when it moved back to her house with her and the range was great in both places. The VOIP lines at both houses are never used to make outgoing calls anymore so I know it's her emergency button when I see the call which is great too because I know I have to answer then and there or call her back if I miss the call. No fees, once you buy the unit you own it and there are no ongoing service fees. I'm happy to look back and find out which one I got exactly if it helps but Amazon sells several of them so you might find one that suits your needs better by doing a little research. Read the reviews and questions, the more expensive ones aren't necessarily better and as I recall several seemed to be exactly the same but priced differently so I went with the least expensive one I felt met our requirements. It has worked out great, the only real drawback is it's size. It is bigger than the buttons that use a subscription service and a bit more of a PIA for her because of that but it comes with a lanyard so she can wear it around her neck as well as a thing that allows her to wear it on her wrist if she wants. She chooses the lanyard and tucks it in her shirt pocket or the pouch she wears around her neck to carry her phone and agrees to it over the subscription service options simply for the cost savings.

Unrealistic expectation

We are currently using a system through residential home health care here in in the Metro Detroit area. The Care Link system itself has no cost but the monthly fee is $30. Mom and Dad just have to press the button on their wrist bracelet or a pendant whichever they choose to wear. It called nine-one-one and then they call the kids that they have listed as given to them by us. My research over the past year did not find any free services like this. We have had to use the system twice and it worked well and quickly both times. They're also understanding and forgiving when my father who has dementia presses the button just for the sake of pressing a button. He doesn't really know that he's calling for an emergency. Wishing you luck on this caregiver Journey. It can be challenging mentally, physically and financially but it can also be rewarding.

I just saw Anniepeepie's response and wanted to chime in on the Amazon Alexa devices. We just got Mom an Echo Show which is the one with a screen. It allows people you give permission to "drop in" much like dropping over and walking in the house. My brothers and I are able to use the free Alexa app on our phones to drop in in her Echo Show and she is being very receptive to it. She happened to have a hospital stay before we had a chance to introduce it to her at home which worked out great actually because we were able to introduce it in the hospital and she loved it there. One of us was able to be present in the room at all times whether physically or by this Echo Show so we never missed visits from the multitude of doctors that came in and she had company whenever she wanted it and didn't feel alone in the hospital, my brother was able to take more breaks from hanging out in the hospital with her before I got to CT (I live in VT) without the fear of missing info because I could monitor things electronically. We have used FaceTime in the past with her Ipad but she needed to answer the Ipad and it wasn't always easy for her and began to cause stress for her. This way too we can check in without bothering her, she is hard of hearing so when she's asleep she doesn't hear the signal someone is dropping in and it doesn't interupt her sleep but when she is awake she hears the signal and can see and talk to the person several seconds before the person dropping in can see her. She has the option to turn down the visit but hasn't asked how and we haven't made an effort to teach her, it works better for our situation but there are other options for various needs. It remains to be seen if she will be able to interact with it, she suffers from aphasia so we aren't sure if it is skilled enough to learn her speech pattern, time will tell but she is able to turn off the alarm we now have set on it to remind her to take medications now that she is home with it and she is still enjoying our ability to drop in for a visit without her having to do anything to answer the call. The speaker and mic system is so much better on it than the ipad or phone as well so you really can hear and communicate as though you were in the room which is nice for me on the other end and very helpful for someone with hearing issues like she is. But for someone that can call out and communicate with it, say one of the activate words it could be helpful in a fall or emergent situation. It picks up someone calling it's name from anywhere in the room very well but you would need an Echo device (not necessarily the Show) in each room to cover everywhere and in our situation I wouldn't feel comfortable relying solely on that for emergencies, I want an emergency call button on her as well. The show does however enable me to drop in and see things, talk to her if she is in the room and let her see me if she has an emergency, we are talking about getting another one for the kitchen next time they go on sale so we can be with her in the kitchen and sitting room connected to it too which will cover the areas of the house she uses most.