A personal monitoring and communication system includes a monitoring and communication control device, at least one personal monitoring communication device coupled with a person and a personal monitoring communication device finder. The personal monitoring communication device includes a GPS receiver, cellular telephone circuits, and short-range wireless radio circuits for communicating with caregivers. The personal monitoring communication device finder receives an emergency beacon generated by one personal monitoring communication device and determines a location of the personal monitoring communication device. A dead reckoning circuit determines the position of the person from a reference location. A motion detection circuit determines that the person is moving, not moving, or has fallen. A battery power management circuit minimizes power consumption to increase battery life of a battery powering the personal monitoring communication device. A tamper detection circuit determines whether the personal monitoring communication device is coupled to the person.