Bay Alarm Medical Review

Bay Alarm Medical’s medical alert system is one of the premier products on the market. Bay Alarm has been in the home security industry for nearly 70 years and has successfully branched out to the medical alert business with great success. Their medical alert system works and it is very affordable. If you take a look around the Internet, you’ll find a plethora of positive reviews aside from this one. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better medical alert system and in many cases is superior to more well known brand such as Life Alert. Let’s take a look at the details of Bay Alarm’s medical alert system.

System Monitoring Features

The Bay Alarm medical alert system offers round the clock monitoring. The service is available at any time, day or night, on any day of the year, even holidays. All the subscriber has to do is press the panic button and help will be on the way. There are two call center locations in separate states to ensure that an emergency representative will be available to help. Aside from the main medical alert system, there is also a smoke/fire and carbon monoxide detector.

The medical alert system functions through a panic button on a pendant that the senior citizen wears on his arm or around his neck. The pendant’s panic button is waterproof and built to last for up to five years. This is an excellent lifespan compared to competing companies’ help buttons that typically last 2 to 3 years on average. When emergency strikes, the senior citizen hits the panic button and the home’s “base unit” (with a microphone and loudspeaker) immediately connects to an operator. The operator speaks with the senior citizen and then reaches out to family, friends or emergency personnel. The loudspeaker and microphone are very sensitive and easy to hear and speak in to. The base unit is connected through any type of phone line including cable phone lines, DSL Internet connections and VoIP services.

A Wireless System For Those Without a Landline

Senior citizens without traditional phone lines can communicate with Bay Alarm’s emergency center through a wireless connection as the base station unit has a built-in cellular connection. The wireless service does cost an extra $10 per month. The system is easy to set up and is almost always self-installed by the senior citizen along with the help of his or her family. The base unit merely connects to a power outlet and a phone line. Installation is that simple.

Each Bay Alarm medical alert system also includes a Vial of Life kit where the subscriber can list out his detailed medical history. This way, emergency personnel can be aware of the person’s unique medical needs and medical history when they arrive to help. The Vial of Life kit is meant to be placed right on the refrigerator door so that it can be easily noticed and accessed. This is the level of unique care and attention to detail that separates Bay Alarm from the pack.

Other Alert System Features

Wall Mounted Buttons: Bay Alarm also presents subscribers with the opportunity to have wall mounted help buttons in addition to the portable pendant. Wall mounted panic buttons make it a little bit easier to reach out for help in a moment’s notice.

Another Person: The medical alert service can also be applied to the main subscriber’s spouse or another person living in the home for no extra monthly fee. The extra person just needs to buy another pendant for about $35.

Premier Plan: There’s also a carbon monoxide detector and smoke/fire detector available in a Premier plan that costs a bit more per month. This is a handy set of services that many competing medical alert system providers do not offer. These extra detectors require no action on behalf of the subscriber. There are sensors within the home that automatically send the signal to the monitoring center. Senior citizens can still press the help button when the detector goes off, just to be on the safe side.

GPS Medical Alert: They also offer a GPS Tracking monitoring service allowing active seniors to venture outside of the home. Help is available just by pushing a button on the GPS unit and the help representative can talk to the senior through this same unit.

• Powered by AT&T Cellular
• GPS Tracking and 24/7 Monitoring
• As low as $29.95/mo + $80 Equipment Cost

Medical Alert Equipment

Bay Alarm’s medical alert system has a panic button that extends to a range of 400 feet at a maximum. This is a more than acceptable range for an average sized home. Most homeowners will be able to head on out to the backyard or to the deck and still be within range. There’s even an option to extend the range all the way to 1,000 feet with a long range panic button.

The system also has a battery backup in case the home’s power goes out. It can run for an additional 32 hours with the backup battery. As soon as the power is back on, the battery will begin recharging for future emergencies. The 32 hour battery life is well beyond the average lifespan of competitors’ backup batteries.

Customer Service

The fact that Bay Alarm doesn’t use television advertisements for its medical alert speaks volumes. This means that they are relying on word of mouth recommendations. It is working. Current customers are so pleased with the alert system and Bay Alarm’s customer service that they are going out of their way to speak highly of the system to friends and family.

It is worth noting that the Bay Alarm medical alert system works not only in the continental United States but also in Alaska and Hawaii. While Bay Alarm doesn’t directly handle customer service calls, the United States based company that they’ve partnered with does a great job of pleasing customers. The Better Business Bureau has a record of ten total complaints over the past three years.

Subscribers have reported very few problems with the system and the customer service representatives. Reviews of Bay Alarm commonly point out that many of the elderly subscribers errantly pressed the panic button multiple times but were not chastised by the customer service representatives. They were understanding and kind. These representatives are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the entire year. Two full service, state of the art call centers are in operation in Ogden, Utah and Rexburg, Idaho. This way, if the lines of communication are down at one center, the other will be open. Representatives speak 170 languages. The call centers are monitored and certified by third party quality assurance companies.

Best Value With Low Pricing and No Contract

Bay Alarm has no long term contract requirements. Consistent with other Bay Alarm Medical alert system reviews we found it is one of the cheapest medical alert systems in the United States. Part of the reason why their service is so cheap is that Bay Alarm does not spend money on television advertising. The savings are passed right on to the customers. The medical alert system costs $21.95 per month and there is no installation fee or activation fee. Subscribers who pre-pay on a quarterly or annual basis can pay a bit less. Subscribers can cancel at any time and there is a 14 day money back guarantee. All it takes is one phone call and the mailing of the equipment back to Bay Alarm. There is also a Premier plan that provides carbon monoxide and smoke / fire alarm alert protection. The Premier plan also includes all the normal medical alert functionality and runs $40 per month.