911 Administrator Cautions About Medic Alert Devices

Effingham County 911 System Administrator Jodi Moomaw says not all medic alert devices are equal.

Moomaw Tuesday told members of the County 911 Board that she will be releasing information to the media about the discrepancy in the devices. She said the difference is that some devices correctly identify the location of an individual wearing the device, but others don't. 

Moomaw said she understands the VA is distributing items to veterans that don't let you know where users are located in case of an emergency, or identify locations other than where the wearers could be found. A problem, she said, is that the distributors of the devices told the users 911 would be able to find them by using the devices, but they can't.

Moomaw said some of the devices work properly, but she didn't want at the meeting to start identifying the ones that might not be helpful.

Moomaw said a good option if someone wants to know whether they having a properly working device is to phone 911's non-emergency number. Tell whoever answers the call that you'd like to test your device and they'll be glad to accommodate you.

Speaking of phones, Moomaw told 911 board members that a next generation phone system demonstration has been scheduled. The demonstration will take place at 10am and 1pm on March 15 at the Effingham Knights of Columbus Building. The next gen system would allow citizens to use other methods than a phone call to relay information to 911.