A Day in the Life and Medical Alert Systems Operator
Hello, My name is Paul and I have worked as a medical alert systems operator for about three years now. It has come in very handy that I am bilingual as this allows me to be even more helpful not only to your clients but to their emergency contact people as well. I love my job because I am able to help people live happier and more independent lives, and I enjoy that in my line of work it changes from day to day so much.
One of the most entertaining aspects of my day can be some of our funnier or accidental calls. We’ve all had those duh moments, but in a moment of panic I know those people are happy we are there to help. Just this morning I I was patched through for an elderly man in an apartment complex. After being unable to make verbal contact with anyone in the home I called the first contact, a neighbor in the same building. As it turns out they were on the same landing and they walked out the door to find our emergency response customer standing in their doorway with groceries in hand. I could here “Mr. Smith” say on the phone that he locked himself out. “Well, why didn’t you just knock on my door” the neighbor laughed. Oops, but crisis was of course averted.
Some of my calls can be a little more difficult to handle. My next call patched me through to a rural home whose smoke alarm had gone off. Again, I was unable to make contact on the speaker, and so when I called emergency services to notify them of the alarm, I also told them that there was a possibility that someone was trapped or unconscious in the home. It was a stressful 10 minutes of contacting family members, to notify them of the situation. When the fire department arrived on site they found a small electrical fire had started in the hallway, but luckily the customer wasn’t home. In fact, they were in a movie at the time of the fire and was the last person to learn that there was a problem. Luckily the fire was caught early and the damage was minimal.
Of course the part of my day that is the most stressful is also the most rewarding. Near the end of my day I received an emergency alarm from a disabled veteran that was wheelchair bound. When I attempted contact on the speaker I could hear distant calls for help with a bit of panic in their voice. After a few moments I was able to calm down the veteran and to ask some questions to determine the nature of the issue. He told me that he had tripped at the top of his stairs and was unable to move after a severe fall. He also said that he hit his eyebrow on the way down the stairs and was bleeding pretty badly. After a moment he ask that I not call a neighbor that he felt may be upset by finding him bloody, but I called a different neighbor and an ambulance, both of which arrived prompt. I stayed on the speaker until help arrived and our veteran knew he was safe and going to be fine.
While this same type of call is repeated a hundred times a week for me, each time I feel a little swell of pride when I hear the panic leave a client’s voice and they know that they are not alone. My job is to bring that sort of assurance of safety to people every day.



