Medical Alert System for Next to Nothing

This project was inspired by a friend who lived alone and, due to a medical event, was left paralyzed in the middle of his kitchen for several days.

He was unable to dial for help. By chance a neighbor barely heard his cries and called 911.

If you are alone in your house, what do you do if you are incapacitated and can't call for help? I have a very simple, cheap solution. We see it all the time ...on top of police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances....

Why not place an EMERGENCY LIGHT on a part of the house that is highly visible to the public?

Once activated, by one of an endless number of ways, passersby will recognize something is amiss and hopefully call the authorities.

Here I will outline how to build a bare-bones system using an inexpensive timer to trigger the light. All this for under twenty-five bucks.

For those so inclined, there are an endless number of ways to trigger the light using various inexpensive sensors....tailored to the needs of the houses occupants... voice activation or a simple panic button are a couple of examples that come to mind....just use your imagination.

Red Rotating Emergency Light

Choose a size that suits your needs. I found one for about $20.00 online.

Mechanical Polarized Outlet Timer ...

Can be found on the internet or in local stores for around $5.00.

Select a prominent location for the light:

Needs to be highly visible to the public...preferably visible to cars/people walking by. In this case the light will be placed inside the house on the window sill...where it is easily visible to passersby.

Attach the timer to the outlet. Determine how much time will expire indicating something is amiss. For example, if the occupant is concerned about becoming incapacitated while in bed, the timer can be set to activate the light after nine hours if they usually sleep seven hours. There are too many scenarios to discuss here.

Plug the light into the timer and place the light in highly visible location.

Consider a free app that calls the user as a reminder to activate and deactivate the timer. Remind the occupant to place the light in a location highly visible to passersby and neighbors.

Many people can't afford an expensive home monitoring system. If you or a loved one find yourself in this situation, this might be a good route to take.