Should I report the facility to the State?
My mom is in an assisted living facility here in Florida. She continues to fall (both in her room and in the hallway and in the dining room). The staff keeps promising they will keep an eye on her, but she keeps falling.
I am reading online about ALF abuse and it seems like repeated falls with no intervention =s elder abuse. But she has not been 'injured' other than a bruise. Should I report the ALF to the state of Florida? Should I hire an assisted living facility abuse lawyer? I have spoken to the head nurse and they do not seem to care....
Thanks,
Exhausted and Confused
BUT----in another state, and under different circumstances--I don't know. You need to get all the facts, don't go in hot headed and angry. Without one on one caregiving and supervision, elderly people are going to fall.
You ready to take mom home and watch her? Trust me, if she's falling in an NH, she'll fall at home. Until Mother realized and truly accepted that she is never going to be stable or strong enough to walk more than a few feet without a walker, she also stopped falling.
Sounds like you need to spend more time with mom and observe things on your own. Maybe the place is very understaffed, Maybe they truly ARE not watching her. I would not jump immediately to blame the staff, most are very underpaid and overworked.
I am sorry that your Mom is falling quite a bit, but that is what elders do, they can't help it. The Assisted Living/Nursing Home can only do so much.
My Mom was in long-term-care and she was a climber.... her brain couldn't register that she was unable to walk much less stand. So she would try to get out of her bed, her wheelchair and her geri-recliner.
My Mom was always falling, but I knew that was the nature of her illness. The Staff was doing all they could under the State law. They did put a seat-belt on her geri-recliner but 3 minutes later... click... Mom had that seat-belt off.
To add to my previous post, my Dad was always falling. He could tumble out of his chair just tying his shoe. I got him a rolling walker and that really helped to lessen the falls. But once his dementia was starting to take over, he was falling on a regular basis.
An ALF may not have the staff to watch her - does she have a walker and is not using it?
Folks at mom's memory care fall all the time and my mom has fallen twice despite me having private aides with her 12 hours a day
She has fallen so many times often with me in the house with her or just a few feet away that urgent care questioned me
Try to determine what is causing mom to fall - meds or balance or new problems with blood sugar or blood pressure
Once you know why she's falling you will be able to try and prevent further falls but sadly many elders either die or are placed in nursing homes from falls
Sorry to hear what is happening with your mother. I know you love her and are very worried about her at this facility. But I have to agree with the others. What is causing your mother to fall? Is it her meds? I would ask the doctor to check on her meds and her current dosage. Hopefully they can adjust them.
His doctor did determine the cause of the frequent falls and was able to minimize it considerably. That isn't always possible, but it is worth working with a doctor about falling.
It is not necessarily abuse when elders fall. ALFs cannot use restraints and cannot provide one-on-one monitoring. (And even if they could, elders still fall!)