Anyone got an old cordless phone (remember those) they don't want?

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

Friend permanently in nursing home and has a room phone. Misses calls because she can't get to the phone in time,

Would a cell phone work?  They are cordless but require cell phone service and a charger.  

We are still using ours.  Your best bet is probably to scour the tag sales that are gearing up for spring. 

Can you put a long cord on it?

sac said:

Can you put a long cord on it?

The location of the phone jack in the room determines where the phone could be placed.  A long cord, even if available, could present a trip hazard and still would not solve the problem of missing calls when Jack's friend is not in their room.  Even a cordless landline phone would have to be close to the charging station to work and would need to be kept in the charger when not in use or it could run out of charge, thus defeating the purpose of a cordless phone. 

A cell phone (flip or smart) is still the best way to go. Jack's friend could carry it even when not in the room.

joan_crystal said:

Would a cell phone work?  They are cordless but require cell phone service and a charger.  

She has a cell phone. That is presenting other problems which I will address on Monday by extending the duration for ring time. 

Calls from medical people come in to the room phone. Personal calls come to the cell phone.

It’s better to buy a new one. Single unit and base. Does she have a nightstand close to her bed so she can easily put the phone back on the charging base? 

ebay?

We had good results with used (but cell) phones 20+ years ago, don't remember the source(s).

Jaytee's idea also seems good, shouldn't be too expensive.

So glad your friend has your help!

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

She has a cell phone. That is presenting other problems which I will address on Monday by extending the duration for ring time. 

Calls from medical people come in to the room phone. Personal calls come to the cell phone.

Two suggestions:  (1) Give medical people her cell phone number so their calls come to the cell phone (preferred);  or (2) Ask medical people to leave their name and phone number, with or without message, at whatever central number handles calls for the facility, check for messages when she returns to the room, and call the medical people back when she gets the message.  

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

She has a cell phone. That is presenting other problems which I will address on Monday by extending the duration for ring time. 

Calls from medical people come in to the room phone. Personal calls come to the cell phone.

Dealing with the short ring time is annoying. My mom’s phone rings four times before going to voicemail. She actually has to call AT&T to have them extend that to something like ten. You can probably do it online but I don’t know if she’s got an online account set up. 

It’s frustrating because her apartment  building has an entry system where I call her from the foyer, she answers and then presses a certain number and it opens the door. But she never hears the phone. I think if it was ringing more she would hear it. 

Our cordless phone will last about 3-4 days on a charge. It has a base with a regular wired handset. There is also an old-school answering machine integrated into the base. Then we have two cordless handsets that each have a small charging stand. 

This model is about $50 on the Home Depot site: 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/VTech-Corded-Cordless-Answering-System-with-Dual-Caller-ID-CS6949/306853864

They are not expensive. I just replaced mine. Better than the cell reception in my 100 year old house with thick concrete walls.

Probably the way to go. 

Dollar general has this one. $15

https://www.dollargeneral.com/p/vtech-cordless-phone-with-caller-id-and-call-waiting/735078013439

Nice. I hesitated spending money on a new one as I suspect dementia is beginning and the phone may be a waste of money and effort to find one.

I didn't think they would be available for purchase anywhere,