Selecting an emergency medical and panic alert system that is a perfect match for any type of athletic facility, whether a health and fitness club, gym, small studio, or country club, has never been more critical or more daunting a challenge for club operators than today. Why? Insurance liability coverage compliance coupled with an unprecedented range of product choices, services and price plan options.
For starters, insurance carriers that service the U.S. Sports Club Industry are increasingly mandating that sports clubs, fitness clubs and gyms in particular, provide their valued club members and staff with two primary "club safety and loss control" emergency medical systems on premises: an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) Defibrillator and a Personal Emergency Response System (PERS is the federal agency designation), more commonly known as an emergency medical alert system. If your club operates as a 24/7 key card accessible or 24/7 keyless entry facility, this requirement even more critical.
Secondly, the medical alarm industry has finally come to fully adopt and successfully market new and emerging technology platforms and user applications that other communication technology driven industries have been employing for years, if not decades. As a result, this adoption into the consumer mainstream combined with recent advancements in medical alarm technology, business owners and facility security managers within the U.S. Sports Club Industry are now faced with a myriad of medical alert system choices and technology platforms and user applications- both traditional and modern day. A daunting challenge for any club operator who wishes to comply with their insurance carrier while integrating a new medical and panic alert system into their existing Club Member Safety Plan in a timely manner.
Does the current broad selection of medical alert systems and panic button devices directly benefit club owners and their businesses? The "big picture" answer is YES. How? Our company for example, Fitness Club Alert Systems, are utilizing these modern day, latest generation technologies to repurpose and customize these products and services designed specifically for the U.S. Sports Club Industry. These "commercial" systems and wearable help button devices now offer better product reliability, signal strength and coverage, ease of use and design, user applications (specific to club users), and 2-way communication. Specifically, how? Better and newer user device technology has resulted in enhanced system mobility and portability within the club environ, improved cellular transmission, 2-way voice clarity and coverage, GPS tracking on premises, fall detection and auto alarm with false alarm cancellation and mitigation, faster response times, 4G and 5G broadband data capacity, content-rich apps, better design, improved battery life and charge times, easier product maintenance, central station synchronization, more competitive pricing and plan options (more on this topic in a later blog).
As new consumers, club operators need immediate and easy to access information that is also simple to understand in order to help you make better and more informed choices when evaluating medical alert systems and their providers. These blog articles strive to unlock the mystery on how these emergency medical alarm systems, panic button devices, and related monitoring and dispatch services actually work.
As an introduction or starting point, selecting the proper emergency medical alarm system that is the right match for your particular fitness club or gym should take into account these six critical areas of concern: 1) physical environment; 2) system operation and maintenance; 3) user adoption/ease of use; 4) monitoring and dispatch service and response protocols; 5) financial budget; and 6) system and service provider.
Here's the breakdown in the simplest of terms:
1) Physical environment: single story or multiple floors; rooms and/or open spaces/zones; indoor and/or outdoor workout areas; 24/7 operations (i.e. 24/7 key card or keyless entry); and unstaffed or unsupervised periods (workout alone) versus staff-supervised operating hours and shifts.
2) System maintenance: for proper ongoing operation, all systems and devices should be tested by club staff on a scheduled and periodic basis. Warning: the provider and its' central station should also be conducting regularly scheduled "silent testing" of the system. Most providers do not offer this service on a frequent timed basis. It is important that a provider do so as a necessary back-up procedure that serves to minimalize the club maintenance.
3) User adoption and system ease-of-use: Most importantly, the club operator should choose an emergency system and/or wearable devices that are easy to use by members and guests particularly during an actual emergency or panic event where the level of user distress is high. This directly translates to device features such as push button(s), 2-way voice activation, screen display, auto prompts enacting emergency status throughout the alarm and more.
Additionally, and almost as important, the system Provider (like our company) should also provide club support collateral (i.e. signage, countertop display; guides) that properly identifies the system and wearable panic devices as a "User Caution: Active 911 Emergency System" and a User member "Quick Start Guide" detailing how to use and return the system. Warning: most providers do not offer such collateral.
4) Monitoring service and response protocols: Known as the "central station", the monitoring and dispatch service center should operate 24/7 with redundant systems, provide nationwide coverage, certified live operators (EMS/EMT specific) via industry association affiliations, online database capture of emergency responder agencies with legal jurisdiction; emergency medical, police and fire dispatch capability, and offer customized response and contact notification protocols if requested, customer service and archival transcriptions based over time.
5) Financial budget (affordability): Systems and product devices should be somewhat competitive within the national marketplace. Actual pricing options will depend upon main system-type technology platforms (i.e. landline versus cellular versus mobile), button device technology platform (i.e. RF versus cellular), wearable panic device options (i.e. bracelet and/or lanyard), device applications (i.e. GPS tracking on premises, fall detection with auto alarm, false alarm cancellation), device design features (i.e. push buttons, screen display, water resistance), 2-way voice communication and coverage area, 2-way voice activation on device or remote to console, signal range and strength, battery life and charging time, and more. Warning: the 24/7 monitoring and dispatch services from the central station should be "bundled" into the overall system package, not charged separately. There should be no "hidden fees" such as system pre-programming and activation, account return/termination fee (unless returned prior to service agreement term), replace device fee or similar fees.
6) System and service provider: Choosing the right provider is just as important as choosing the right system option. Selecting a "national" or "nationwide" provider is essential. This ensures your club that your provider has long term stability and viability within the medical alarm industry. This includes financial viability, product quality, EMS services through an accredited central station operation, supply chain, vendor resources, backend tech support and customer service, product choice and new product development offerings, competitive and value-driven pricing and more.
Fitness Club Alert Systems, through its online education blog articles series, official website hub, online and offline marketing outreach campaigns, and complimentary phone consultations with key facility stakeholders, strongly advises all fitness club and sports facility operators to get educated before evaluating providers and their medical alert system product and service offerings.
Above all else, integrating the right medical alert system and/or compatible panic alert devices into your existing Club Member Safety Plan is not only essential to your valued members overall safety, security and peace of mind, but to the overall long-term health of your business enterprise when addressing legal liability control and mitigation, member satisfaction and retention, financial growth, and in times of Covid and post pandemic- ultimate survival.
If this blog article encourages you to take further action, please do not hesitate to contact me directly for a complimentary and personalized, one-on-one phone consultation and estimate (no time limit) by calling me direct at (203) 210-5712 EST / 24-7. My name is Scott Hazlewood and I am the Founder and CEO of FCAS. You may also visit our website at www.fitnessclubalertsystems.com. Fitness Club Alert Systems is the only nationwide provider of emergency medical alert systems exclusively serving the U.S. Sports Club Industry since 2015.
Komentáře