Services > Outreach > Lifeline® Medical Alert
What is Lifeline?
Lifeline is a unique system that allows you to live at home independently while maintaining an immediate emergency link to Black River Memorial Hospital at the push of a button. Lifeline operates in conjunction with your home telephone service and operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Installation of Lifeline does not affect the normal operation of your telephone.
How does Lifeline work?
Each subscriber has a communicator unit attached to the telephone and a small portable button that is worn around your neck, on your wrist, or carried in your pocket.
At the first sign of trouble, the subscriber pushes the button. This automatically sends an electronic message through the telephone line to Black River Memorial Hospital’s second floor nurse’s station where trained personnel immediately call back to find out the problem.
If there is no answer, our Response Center staff contacts responders whose names have been supplied by the subscriber. These responders are relatives, friends, or neighbors who live nearby and have a key to enter the home.
In addition to the list of responders, the Response Center staff has a brief medical history and the name of your private physician. When needed, the Response Center staff will contact police or rescue unit as appropriate.
What does Lifeline Cost?
The rental fee for Lifeline ranges from $20 to $25 a month. Volunteers install the Lifeline unit in your home. If you have a financial need, we may be able to assist you with the monthly charge.
The Lifeline system requires that you have a private (one-party) line. Also, if there is more than one telephone in your home, we ask you to sign a waiver that releases Lifeline from responsibility in case one phone is off the hook.
For more information, contact Carrie Trautlein at 715-284-1360 or trautleinc@brmh.net.