Helping Dementia Caregivers

I am considering getting an apple watch for my older mother who is progressing down the path of dementia. Ideally it would give her the time and date, and it would give me as her caregiver the ability to see her location as well as sleep and other health data in real time. I'd also like her watch to call me when it detects a fall and enable 2-way communication without any input from her. I am assuming that the watch would need to be paired to my iPhone, but this would all need to work whether I am nearby or out of state. It'd be helpful if all the same information and capabilities could be shared with other caregivers. Another important feature is the ability to make all the buttons non-functional so that she can't inadvertently change anything in it.

Please share your experience with similar needs. What other features/capabilities have you found helpful, and how have others satisfied these needs?

Posted on May 2, 2024 5:57 AM

Top-ranking reply

Carol B.

Level 6

17,741 points

Posted on May 2, 2024 7:00 AM

I'm afraid the Apple Watch is not the best solution for her or your needs. But I can understand what you are going thru. I was my dad's caretaker for several years. The link below is for the Lively Medical Alert system. It worked well for him and me. I was able to see where he was at any time. He could get help with the press of a button. And if he fell, I would get a call and could decide whether or not to have them call 911. He was also able to press the button himself if anything was wrong. There are other similar devices out there. You can check them out to see what best suits your needs. A word of warning though, my biggest challenge was getting him to wear it. (It goes around the neck.) But he was convinced after he lost his balance and fell into a big bush while on a walk. The device detected the fall and was able to tell me exactly where he was so I could go help him.

https://www.seniorliving.org/medical-alert-systems/greatcall/reviews/

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Helping Dementia Caregivers

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