We had the same challenge. So I found some windows batch files that check the status of a service. I coded those batch files into a set of scripts that run each hour and check the status of all services and if a service is down, it will send an e-mail notification as well as try and restart the service. You can download the scripts and instructions from this BOB’s Downloads post:
alpha1145 
(BOB member since 2006-01-04)