Family First offers the safest and most reliable 24-hour medical alarm monitoring service that is currently available in the United States at the most competitive price for your family.

Call Toll Free: 1-(888) 877-9169

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)

Do I have to sign a long-term agreement?

"No. Family First Medical Alarms does not have any long-term agreement. With Family First you can cancel anytime without penalty and we will also refund your balance for the time that you do not use the service upon receiving your equipment back."

How does it work?

"Basically what would happen is the subscriber would have a small pendant that they would wear either around your neck, or on your wrist. It is completely water proof (not water resistant) so you can wear it in the shower or tub or even a pool. The important thing is if the subscriber ever need help, all they have to do is push the button on their person. In approximately 20 seconds, one of our trained specialists at one of our central stations will begin to have a live two way conversation with the subscriber through a small piece of equipment called a medical console base, that is plugged in at your house. At this time the subscriber may say something to the monitoring station like, " I don't need an ambulance but would you please call my son or daughter, neighbor, or friends?" A paramedic it not always required however the central monitoring station will do whatever it is that you ask. However if we are unable to speak with you or you say it's an emergency, we would immediately dispatch the local paramedics to your house or follow any specialized instructions the subscriber might have on file such as call my son before anything else."

Who responds when I press my emergency button?

"One of our monitoring centers, both of which are located here in the United States. You will be answered by a caring trained professional who will respond to your needs 24-hours a day."

Does the service work outside of the home?

"Yes. If you should have a problem outside your house, anywhere within 600 feet from where you place the medical alarm console base, the system will still work. However, we may not be able to speak with you or hear you if you are outside with our monitoring center. However, the monitoring center will know that you are in trouble and will dispatch emergency services to your residence if you were in that situation unless you specify otherwise.

PLEASE NOTE, at Family First will always tell you the truth about the equipment and its limitations. The only way to know for sure is to try it, we provide a walk test which involves having your loved one move throughout the entire inside and outside of the home (if they are able), while moving they are communicating with one of our monitoring centers through the console base by speaking out loud into thin air while one of our trained specialists answers as to whether or not they are able to hear them. After the inside walk test we can  provide an outside of the home, radius activation test. This involves having the subscriber or family members go to the areas in question such as the mailbox, garden, garbage area, laundry area, etc. and press the emergency responding button. We will make sure that if there is more than one area of concern, that it will be tested in the outside radius test. At Family First Medical Alarms the safety of your loved one and your peace of mind is of our utmost importance and responsibility."

Will the Family First Medical Alarm work with rotary phone service?

"Yes! Our system will work with either a rotary, pulse or tone telephone service."

Can I take the system with me if I move?

"Yes. Simply call our toll free telephone number or E-Mail us to let us know the exact dates, the new address, telephone number, and any change of the order that we handle the contact call list. Family First Medical Alarms will also change the telephone numbers for the emergency services if the move is outside of their area of service. Family First Medical Alarms has many situations where our customers have a summer home and a winter home, if they leave at the same dates each year to go to and return from their homes we can enter it into the computer system that we have had specially designed for tracking the dates and notifying our center to make the necessary changes. Family First Medical Alarms always confirm the day prior with the subscriber or their family when the subscriber is in our automated change of address system."

Is the emergency button difficult to press?

"The emergency button is designed to be pressed firmly in order to prevent accidental activations, however there is no need to put a lot of strength behind it.."

What if I accidentally press the emergency button?

"If you should accidentally set off your alarm, there is no need to be concerned. Simply tell your personal emergency response specialist, who speaks to you through the console base that you have accidentally pressed the button, or that you are just testing the equipment. They will then disconnect the live two way voice connection and no further action will be taken. We are there for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we are always happy to assist you."

Note: Do not try to stop the alarm in the process of contacting the monitoring center. If the monitoring center receives your alert and the alarm is turned off or deactivate before someone can speak with you the monitoring center will not be able to confirm it was just a accident.

If I live in a rural area, can I still use this service?

"We offer nationwide service. We can provide our custom tailored service to you or your loved one anywhere in the United States."

How do I plug it in (install questions)?

"You simply plug the alarm in just like you would a cordless telephone. You will also snap it into a wall telephone jack and whatever is in the wall telephone jack now, you simply snap into the back of our alarm unit. Also, please visit our Equipment & Pricing page by clicking on the blue button marked accordingly on the left side of our website. There, you will find detailed pictures of how the equipment is shipped and the detailed instructions that are attached to each of the two cords that require connection. When you visit the Equipment & Pricing page, please make sure that you make special note of each one of the detailed instructions, it is here that you will find subtle reasons as to why Family First has earned the reputation for being the safest and the most reliable provider of nationwide medical monitoring services.

Another not so subtle reason why Family First Medical Alarms has earned the reputation for being the safest, and the most reliable medical alarm service provider, please visit the Equipment and Pricing page, and scroll down about midway through the page until you reach the red font that says VERY IMPORTANT. The Family First Medical Alarms patented, Dead Telephone Line Restoration Filters further separate us from any of our competitors. Please make sure that you understand how these fail safe filters ensure that the service will work when your loved one needs to use their service. If you have any questions as to how they work, please do not hesitate to call us at: 1-(888) 877-9169 so that we can describe the importance of them and how they can make the Family First Medical Monitoring service Fail Safe, bringing you the most peace of mind."

Do I need to modify the telephone jack in my home in order for it to work?

"No special type of jack is required in order for The Family First Medical Alarm to work. However you will need a regular modular phone jack (RJ11) to plug your alarm into. It will work off your existing modular phone jack and will not affect your telephone or any other item plugged into the jack"

How long will it take to get a response if I activate the alarm?

"Only 20 seconds or so after it is activated, a trained staff member located at one of our central stations will begin to have a live two way conversation with you, the live conversation, of course does not require you or your loved one to have any hand held devises. All that is required is for you to speak into thin air. "

If something should ever go wrong with the equipment, how do I get it fixed?

"If this should happen, simply call our toll free number (1-888-877-9169) and we will attempt to troubleshoot the problem with you over the phone. If for some reason we cannot resolve the problem with you over the telephone, we will send a NEXT DAY MAIL a replacement unit to you at no charge."

Can I make changes to the contact information after it is in my home?

"YES! Just give us a call, E-Mail us, or mail us a letter letting us know what you wish to change."

What payment options do you offer?

"We currently accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover Credit Cards. We also accept personal checks."

 My mom and dad both need this, do I have to pay extra for two people?

"No, the monitoring fee remains the same per month. There are also NO additional fees for the additional emergency responding buttons."

What happens if I am unable to speak after I press the emergency button?

"If our monitoring center is unable to speak with you, we will immediately call the telephone number at your residence. If you do not answer your telephone, we will immediately dispatch emergency services to your house or start calling Responsible People on the list you provided us ahead of time. Responsible People are neighbors, family members and others you have specified on the paperwork accompanying the Family First Medical Alarms.

PLEASE NOTE, that if you would like us to change our standard monitoring center procedures, we will custom tailor your account to be handled as you wish as long as it is in the best interest of the subscriber." Many of our subscribers have decided to have the Responsible People on their list called before Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

How will the equipment get to my home?

"We send the system to you Priority Mail via the United States Post Office. There is no charge for priority delivery and we ship the equipment the same day that you order it as long as we receive it by 2:00 PM Central Time. You should expect to receive the equipment two to five days after you place your order (Saturdays included.) If you need it the very next day, that can be arranged for a fee of $18.00. If you are ordering it on a Friday and you need it by Saturday there is no extra fee. Family First also has the most convenient return plan, at no charge whatsoever to you. All you need to do is bring the alarm to any US Post Office with some packing to ensure it will not become damaged and ask for a Free Flat Rate Box. Place the equipment with the US Post Office receipt (Approximately $8.00) for the shipping in the free box and note how you like us to reimburse you i.e. check or credit card and once we receive the equipment we will issue a credit to you for the shipping cost.

Can you ship it to my parent and bill me for it?

"Yes. If you choose to we can charge your credit card, or we can send you a bill in the mail, You decide."

What happens when my electricity goes out, or if the AC adapter gets knocked out of the wall?

"The system has a battery backup that will operate the unit for up to 20 hours after an electrical outage. When the power is restored the backup battery will then recharge itself, and it will be ready for any additional power outages. At Family First we program our equipment to silently seize the telephone line and report any power outages as well as power restorations. If the power fails to restore after 8 hours, we will first notify the subscriber and find out if it is a electrical outage, or if the equipment has become unplugged from the AC outlet. If we are unable to correct the problem, we will immediately start to contact the responsible parties to notify them of the situation so that it can be resolved."

How do the emergency services get into my home?

"Should our monitoring center have to call paramedics, they would immediately call any friends, neighbors, or family members on your contact list (Responsible People) that have a key to your home and live close enough to meet the emergency services and open the door. We also suggest hiding a key outside and we will document the location on your account so that the monitoring center can let the emergency services know where the key is located if they have to be dispatched. Please keep in mind that in an emergency, paramedics are in a hurry to get in and help you or your loved one. The only way to ensure that damage will not be done to a window or a door to gain entry is to purchase one of our realtor type lockboxes. We program a 4-digit code of your choice into it. It is then placed around the main entry doorknob to the home. A house key is to be placed inside of the lockbox and in the event that emergency services need to be dispatched the monitoring center will give them the 4-digit combination so (EMS) Emergency Medical Services can get the house key and enter the home without damaging windows or doors. The cost of the lockbox is a one time charge of $40.00."

How large is the console base and the emergency button?

"The console base is about the size of an average telephone and can be placed easily on any table or it can also be mounted on a wall. The pendant measure about 1 half inch by 1 full inch. The pendants are very lightweight, less than an ounce, and are not cumbersome in any way. Please visit our Equipment and Pricing page to see pictures of all of our equipment. The second picture from the top is where you can see our console base and our emergency responding buttons."

How close to the console base do I need to be in order to hear and be heard?
"The Console Base has a very loud speaker and a very sensitive microphone. The microphone in the console base is unlike anything that can be purchased in a store. In a home as large as 1400 square feet with multiple levels you should have no problem being heard, and as far as us being able to hear you, that is based on how soft your voice is. Generally, we are able to hear our subscribers throughout the entire home.

Please be wary of some of our competitors who employ commission paid sales people. These commission paid sales people may give you unrealistic information about the hear and be heard abilities of their equipment. You may also find that these same commission paid sales people also exaggerate the other features and benefits of their equipment. Here at Family First we do not employ commission paid sales people and we only use the most technologically advanced equipment on the market today. We also have the ability to increase the hear and be heard radius of you or your loved one. Family First Medical Alarms has the ability to connect up to two remotely located microphone, speaker units. These units each have 1 additional loud speaker and another 1 sensitive microphone in them. They can be placed in any areas of the home that you may have concerns about the hear and be heard radius of the original placement of the console base. There are no additional charges for the remotely located speaker, microphone units themselves. We do have a one time fee for the wires that run from the original console base to the remote speaker, microphone units. That fee is $30.00 for every 50 feet of wire that you request. Please make sure and visit our Equipment and Pricing page to view these remote speaking and microphone devices. The third picture from the top shows and describes the details about the remote speaker, microphone units."

Is your service covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or insurance?

"Yes it is in some cases, with Medicare or Medicaid there is a one to two year wait period depending on which state that you live in. You will need to go to the local Area on Aging in the town or city where the subscriber lives. If there is no Area on Aging located in the town or city where the subscriber in question lives, you will need to find the closest one. From this point you will need to make an appointment with a case manager who will see if the subscriber in question will meet the income qualifications. If the subscriber in question meets the income qualifications, he/she will be placed on the list. If you are in need of service and are unable to wait for the one to two years period, we will gladly set up your service and bill the party of your choice, upon the end of the one to two year wait, we will change the billing from the responsible party's name and begin billing Medicaid or Medicare. As far as personal types of insurance, every plan is different. Many plans have reimbursements for Medical Alarms. All that you have to do is call the insurance carrier and ask them if they cover the cost or have any reimbursement aid for Medical Alarms."

Unconditional Price Guarantee

Best of all find a better price and let us know! After you have finished gathering information from other companies like Family First, if you have found a more competitive price, give us a call and we will match their offer. This guarantee is also good even after you have become a subscriber. With Family First Medical Alarms you will always be paying the most competitive price for monthly monitoring. 

 

Family First offers the safest and most reliable 24-hour medical alarm monitoring service that is currently available in the United States at the most competitive price for your family.

Call Toll Free: 1 (888) 877-9169 or ORDER NOW

 
©2007 Family First LLC Last Change: 01/16/2011