Do you ever wonder if you heard your front door or garage open and then begin to panic that someone is in the house? Or, maybe you’re the parent of young children and worry that they may have slipped out of the house unsupervised. With an entry alert installed at your front door, back door or garage, you can be notified each time someone enters or exits the house.

Use Entry Alert to Greet Visitors or Warn of Intruders

A wireless entry alert has a small transmitter that mounts to any door and a portable receiver that plugs into any electrical outlet. When the door is opened, a signal is sent to the receiver and the person’s arrival (or departure) is announced by a musical tune or chime to greet visitors. Seniors living alone (especially those with hearing impairments) will appreciate getting these notifications when visitors have come or gone.

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While the majority of drowning accidents involve young children, medically-frail seniors and handicapped persons are also at high risk of drowning or near-drowning injuries, tragedies that can be prevented by better caregiver supervision and the use of a pool alarm. Water is a great source of therapy for handicapped and older persons because it can restore agility and strength and improve circulation, but backyard pools must have the right pool safety equipment to be truly beneficial.

A large percentage of drowning accidents occur when supervising adults are near the victim, but not paying close attention when he or she falls into the water. Oftentimes the victim slips under the water’s surface silently and isn’t noticed until it’s too late. Seniors who suffer from ailments that can affect their vision, judgment, balance or coordination — like epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes or a heart condition — are especially vulnerable when they are near the open water.

New Immersion Pool Alarm for Adults

A new “immersion” pool alarm designed specifically for adults is ideal for protecting elderly and handicapped persons against drowning. “Immersion” pool alarms have a water-activated sensor worn by the user, usually on a wristband. If the user falls into a pool, spa or other fresh water, the sensor immediately signals a nearby base station, which sounds a loud alarm. The alarm continues to sound until it is reset.

Offered by Safety Turtle, the SOS adult immersion pool alarm provides continuous protection to anyone wearing the sensor wristband. (The sensor can also be attached to a lifejacket.) Caregivers and family will hear a loud alarm as soon as their loved one enters the water, even if they don’t hear or see the splash.

Combine with Other Layers of Protection

Many towns and cities have swimming pool safety laws that require homeowners to enclose their pool area with a fence at least four feet high. A self-closing gate with a gate alarm is often recommended or required. These barriers may be enough to keep children or wandering adults out of the pool area, but the addition of a pool alarm that will sound when someone actually falls into the water adds another important layer of protection to prevent accidental drowning.

Protects Boaters and Workers Too

The Safety Turtle SOS adult immersion pool alarm is portable and can be taken anywhere. Boaters can use it as a “man overboard” warning device to protect the captain or crew when crossing fresh water lakes and rivers. It can also be used by businesses to protect workers on bridges or employees who are working around other types of water hazards.  Additional wristbands can be added to protect multiple crew members or workers.

Drowning can Happen Anywhere, Anytime

Drowning accidents are common and can happen anywhere and to just about anyone, but most victims are small children and ill or weakened adults who may not be able to lift their head above the water. If you are responsible for the well-being of a medically-frail adult or handicapped person and have a backyard swimming pool, a Safety Turtle SOS adult immersion pool alarm can help protect them from accidental drowning and give you peace-of-mind.

Thanks to a key safe lockbox that contained the key to the front door, emergency medical crews were able to gain immediate access to the home of an unconscious patient in Franklin Township, N.J. last January. The homeowner had the foresight to register the combination code for the lockbox with the Franklin Township police department and that allowed the first responders to get into the house in seconds to render aid, without having to break down the door or smash a window.

What is a key safe lockbox?

A key safe lockbox is a combination lock with a secure compartment that holds a door key. The shackle of the lockbox is typically attached to a door knob, railing or other rigid fixture near the door. Key safe lockboxes are popular with real estate companies so multiple sales agents can have access to a vacant home. Businesses and rental apartments also use lockboxes to provide emergency workers with quick entry to their buildings at all times.

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Elderly seniors who live alone need a way to get emergency help quickly, but with so many different personal emergency response systems on the market today, you really need to do your homework and compare all of the features before buying or leasing. That’s what my friends Bob and Kate Gibson did when Bob’s father became a widower and insisted on staying in his own home and living independently.

Kate and Bob made a list of the key features they needed and began comparing personal emergency response systems until they found the one that fit the bill. If you are also shopping around for one of these systems, you might want to use their checklist to narrow down your choices:

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The projection clock we gave my elderly mother was the perfect solution to her nighttime dilemma of not being able to read the bedside clock. Because it was so hard for her to roll over in bed, she had difficulty maneuvering so she could face the clock. And even if she was able to position herself to see the clock, she still couldn’t read the numbers without her reading glasses on!

Poor mom was fatigued and frustrated almost every single night. Like so many older people, she was a poor sleeper and rarely slept straight through to daybreak. “It’s just awful not knowing what time it is, especially in the middle of the night,” she said. “I never know whether morning is coming in one hour or five hours!”

A projection alarm clock — which displays the time onto a wall or ceiling — turned out to be the answer to Mom’s problem. The numbers it projects on either the ceiling or wall are large enough for most people to read without glasses. And many projection clocks have a swivel feature that makes it easy to point the display at exactly the right spot where the numbers can be seen just by glancing up.

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“What? Are you talking to me?” was my friend Jack’s reply to fifty percent of the questions anyone asked him – that is, before he got himself a personal amplifier. A personal amplifier is a compact, portable device that improves one’s ability to hear speech in conversations, TV programs, small meetings or noisy restaurants.

Chances are you know someone like Jack who has difficulty hearing in certain settings but refuses to wear a hearing aid. In fact, statistics indicate that 17 percent of American adults suffer from some degree of hearing loss, but only one out five people who would benefit from a hearing aid actually wears one. So for all of those people like Jack, a personal amplifier is a great tool.

Great Way to Turn Up the Volume

What exactly is a “personal amplifier?” It’s a portable “assistive listening device” with a microphone and a headset that boosts sounds closest to the listener while reducing background noises. Jack has a Geemarc Amplified Hearing Assistant that can amplify volume up to 25dB, making it a lot easier for him to carry on a conversation in a loud restaurant or while flying in a noisy airplane, for example.

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Loss of heat, power outages, isolation, hypothermia and dehydration are serious concerns for seniors during the winter, so we’ve put together some practical home safety tips to help them prepare for the long, cold months ahead.

“Fuel up” – Have the furnace checked by a HVAC professional and get the chimney and flue cleaned.  Early in the season, schedule a delivery of home heating oil or propane and monitor fuel levels as winter progresses. When levels fall below a quarter of tank, schedule a fuel delivery.  Financially-strapped seniors may be eligible for state aid to purchase heating fuel.  Go to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website for information on state and utility-funded energy programs.

Get an alternative source of heat – Power outages can last for days in the winter so it’s imperative that seniors have an alternative (non-electric) source of heat, such as a wood stove, kerosene heater or efficient wood-burning fireplace.  Always have an adequate supply of seasoned wood or kerosene fuel on-hand. Remember that deadly carbon monoxide fumes are emitted when burning wood and kerosene, so make sure the area is properly ventilated and a smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector is installed nearby.  Better yet, consider installing a multi-function monitoring system with an auto-dialer, like the Sensaphone 400, that automatically sends telephone alerts to family or friends if there is a smoke or toxic gas emergency.

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If you’re looking for some original gift ideas, look no further. Here’s a list of clever and useful DIY gifts that are all priced at under $100!

Gifts Under $50

Washing Machine Shutoff Hoses by FloodSafe – This is a simple, non-mechanical solution to protect against the catastrophic water damage caused by broken, brittle washing machine hoses. When the FloodSafe washing machine connector hose detects an excess flow of water, the flow of water is automatically turned off. Needs no electricity, batteries or other power source. Every washing machine owner on your list will appreciate a set of FloodSafe hoses. On sale now for $21.99.

YardGard Alarm for Gates, Windows and Doors – If you’re looking for a unique gift for parents of young children, give them a YardGard Alarm so they can monitor unsupervised children or trespassers coming and going into their yard, pool area, house or potentially dangerous areas. The alarm alert sounds an extra loud 120 dB siren. Kit includes hardware for mounting on gates, doors and windows. Special holiday sale price is only $35.99.

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Did you know that for less than $75 you can have a home automation system that lets you remotely control any light, device or appliance in your house? The number of ways you can use a lighting and appliance home automation system like this are countess. Here are just a few:

• Starting the coffee maker when you wake up in the morning so it’s always fresh-brewed;
• Turning the interior lights on before entering a dark house;
• Dimming the light in the baby’s room after she falls asleep without having to climb up the stairs;
• Lighting the outdoor Christmas tree – and turning it off at bedtime — while standing inside your warm house;
• And never again having to crawl underneath the living room Christmas tree to turn the lights on or off!

The system I like is by Skylink. First of all, it’s very affordable — each Skylink component is sold separately, so you only buy what you need. Later on, if there are additional things you want to automate, you can easily expand the system by purchasing extra components. Secondly, installation is simple with no complicated wiring instructions – all of control units either plug into a wall socket or screw into a light bulb socket. Another great feature is that the system has a wireless transmission range of up to 500 feet, so it’s capable of operating an entire house.

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The holidays are here again and everyone is looking for unique gift ideas. Here’s a list of gift suggestions that that are original, useful and affordable – and sure to bring a smile to those special people on your shopping list.

For Grandparents and Seniors

Amplified Alarm Clock with Wireless Vibrating Pad & Telephone Signaler – Do you know someone who is hard-of-hearing or hard to wake up, or both? This extra loud alarm clock wakes deep sleepers with a loud 90dB signal and/or vibration. The Amplicom TCL 200 Digital Alarm Clock can also signal incoming phone calls. Now offered for $73.00.

Wireless Motion Detector – No one wants to be surprised by strangers at the door. With this wireless passive infrared sensor, grandma can monitor an entrance, walkway or other covered location up to 600 feet away and be warned when a person or vehicle approaches. The Dakota Alert IRWR-3000 Wireless PIR is sold as a kit for $149.99. Extra sensors can be added.

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