How to make sure the right help will always be there – a closer look at the personal care plan.
What is a personal care plan?
When your loved one sets up their Lifeline service, they are asked to complete a personal care plan It contains important information for first responders, such as medications and instructions for how to access their home in an emergency. It also serves as a guide for our Trained Care Specialists, helping them understand who to call first when a button is pressed – or when AutoAlert, our advanced fall detection technology, detects a fall – based on the situation.
Within the personal care plan, your loved one will need to identify up to three caregivers who can respond if help is needed, and up to three caregivers who should be notified when help is sent.
What happens if help is needed?
Whenever your loved one presses their button – or when AutoAlert detects a fall – one of our Trained Care Specialists will respond quickly and determine what type of help is needed. In some instances, this may mean dispatching emergency services. Other times, this means reaching out to the people designated to respond within your loved one’s personal care plan – then staying on the line with your loved one until help arrives.
If you’re helping your loved one complete their Care Plan Agreement, there are a few important criteria to keep in mind as you’re choosing people to respond when help is needed. The best people for this role:
- Have a phone number (ideally a cell phone number)
- Have a valid driver’s license and easy access to a car
- Live or work within 10 minutes of your loved one
- Can be contacted at different times of the day or night
- Have a key to your loved one’s home or know where one is located
After the button is pressed (or a fall is detected) and help has been dispatched, the Trained Care Specialist will then reach out to the contacts that your loved one’s personal care plan indicates should be notified when help is sent. These should be also people who help manage your loved one’s daily care needs, so they can be prepared if those needs should change.
For example, consider what happens if your loved one presses their button because medical assistance is required. Once they’ve received the immediate care they need, they may also require additional help. If the appropriate caregivers are notified of the situation, they can prepare themselves to help when needed.
How the Lifeline Cares app makes managing the personal care plan easier
As you can see, it’s very important to make sure your loved one’s personal care plan contains the most up-to-date information possible. When they are working with current information, our Trained Care Specialists can make sure the right help is sent as quickly as possible when your loved one presses their button– or when AutoAlert detects a fall – depending on the situation.
Access to the Lifeline Cares app, which is included with your loved one’s Lifeline service, provides an easy way for everyone involved to keep their information up to date. Once Lifeline Cares is connected to your loved one’s Lifeline service, they can log in to the Lifeline Cares app from a desktop computer or a smartphone to make changes to their personal care plan whenever needed. If you are an account administrator, you will also have access to the personal care plan, and you can help your loved one make changes.
One of the most important features of the Lifeline Cares app is the care circle, which makes it easy to keep everyone in your loved one’s care circle informed and connected. If you are an account administrator, you can help your loved one create a care circle within the app by inviting their trusted family and friends. You and your loved one can choose which people you want to respond or be notified when help is needed – and you can update this information in the app as needed at any point in time. Updating this information in the app will also update your loved one’s personal care plan in real-time and make sure our Trained Care Specialists contact the right people.
Each person invited will receive an email invitation to download the Lifeline Cares app and join the care circle. Once they sign up, they will be able to use the app to:
- Set their availability to respond in an emergency – so if one member of the care circle goes on vacation, they can mark themselves unavailable. Our Trained Care Specialists will then know to contact the next caregiver listed on the personal care plan if your loved one presses their button and needs assistance.
- View your loved one’s interactions with their Lifeline service, so caregivers will have easy access to the details each time the Lifeline button is pressed.
- Communicate with other members of the care circle by sharing notes and updates that can help more easily coordinate your loved one’s care needs.
If you or your loved one already has a Lifeline medical alert system, simply download the app via the links below or visit the web URL and follow the prompts to connect it to your Lifeline account. You’ll need the email address you provided when you ordered Lifeline.
Google Play Store | Apple Store
You can also click here to set up Lifeline Cares on your web browser.
