Personal Emergency Response System

Supporting independent living through a two-way communication system that is monitored 24/7 and, when activated, initiates an emergency response.

A Personal Emergency Response System, PERS, gives participants a direct access to help in an emergency. Most individuals who participate live independently and want to have quick access to help should they fall or become ill. The client wears a small device called a personal transmitter. When help is needed, they just press a button. A signal is sent over standard telephone lines to a response center staffed 24 hours a day.

The PERS has the client's name, address, health profile, emergency and non-emergency contact names and phone numbers, and other important information in a database. The system also includes a help console with a speaker so Health Watch monitoring staff and the client can talk to each other. Response center staff arrange emergency and non-emergency assistance.

Telehealth in-home monitoring program

Telehealth is an in-home monitoring program that allows the Parmenter nurses to remotely monitor a patient’s blood pressure, weight, and oxygen saturation. When recommended by a physician, there is no charge for this service for a visiting nurse patient. The equipment is installed by the nurse, who easily trains the patient and family. The equipment is compact, wireless and easy for the patient to use – all that’s needed is a few minutes each day. Data from the devices is sent by secure server to Parmenter nurses who read and analyze the information and then act on it accordingly.

If the patient’s vital sign measurements are outside of limits set by the patient’s physician, the nurse will call the patient to see what is happening. Sometimes, the nurse will have medications adjusted through contact with the patient’s physician. Communication and directives from the patient’s physician are paramount. Telehealth’s purpose is to enhance the physician’s care, not replace it.

This early intervention and response to subtle changes in the patient’s vital signs will, hopefully, prevent re-hospitalizations and unnecessary trips to the emergency room.

Call us at 508-358-3000, to learn more.

Thanks to the generosity of the Charles H. Farnsworth Charitable Trust, the MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation and the Sudbury Foundation, Parmenter is now providing remote patient monitoring, Telehealth.