Do you get calls from the Nursing Home telling you your parent fell AGAIN?

My husband fell in rehab with three aides standing right there. And my mom also fell quite frequently mostly because the women in our family have a condition called “Inherited Clumsiness”. We ALL fall. But Mom would also take off without her walker, or my favorite, walk holding it up off the ground.

If you are concerned about your mom’s frequent falls, call a Care Conference. Have the therapists, any aides who have contact with her, the Director of Nursing and even someone from administration. Be calm but firm and tell them you are concerned Mom may become seriously injured and you don’t want to report them, but if it continues, you may have to. Work with them to find a solution. In my mom’s case, they were able to move her room right across from the nurse’s station where they could observe her better.

My family inherited clumsiness as well. I'm constantly banging my head into things.............you name it, the kitchen cupboards, my treadmill, etc.

My Mom fell once right in front of me. One minute she was walking fine, the next she fell flat. And yes, the nursing home was phoning me all the time too. I'd come rushing over and everyone was mystified. I think this is par for the course at this age.

Unfortunately, the nursing home staff can't be everywhere at once.

A man at mom's facility won't stay in his wheelchair- while he can walk a few steps, his legs are like jello

he wears an alarm and has a mat next to his bed

Sunday night I heard a beeping from mom's room and walked down the hall to see him wobbling in his room just in time to see him fall

Oh yes, my stomach turns whenever the NH number comes up on my caller ID. For months it was falls, now it’s skin tears. This is complicated by the laws against restraints in my state, but there are things that can be done to help prevent the falls and minimize the effects when she does fall. We have implemented all of these and it’s helped. Is she rolling out of bed, or from the wheelchair?

If bed, use fall mats on both sides; lower the bed to the lowest position; ask for a wider bed instead of the normal skinny twin; pad under the sheets with rolled up towels or blankets to make a well; move everything away from the bed when she’s sleeping; pad any sharp corners on air conditioner units etc.

If wheelchair, make sure it’s properly sized, not too wide; ask for a chair pad that has a lot of traction; don’t use footrests if they would be a tripping hazard if she’s trying to stand up.

Yes, sadly I do get calls. Mostly it’s falls due to my dad being stubborn and independent and transferring without assistance. He is not a patient man and won’t wait for them to come help. Luckily no broken bones yet. Although he had a bad sprain to his wrist from the last fall. I just pray he goes before another hip is broken. For a while they were not putting his call button in his recliner and so he couldn’t call for help. I had to get pretty terse with them and use the word negligence and that got their attention. So be sure her call button is where she can access it.
Is she using a walker or wheelchair. How is it she is falling?
my dad has an air pad overlay on his bed to prevent sores but it also has curved sides to prevent rolling out. I agree with rocketjcat's suggestions!

Yes, we get the dreaded fall call. My FIL has started falling and/ or fainting multiple times a week. Sometimes it is when he tries to get out of bed. Other times he has been using his walker. There have been times when he was actually in the process of having pjysical therapy and he just ends up on the floor.

The memory care facility where has lived for 6 momths calls every time he falls. Usually just to inform us that he fell and everything is ok or they had to put a bandage somewhere.
At our last care meeting, we were told falls are very common when the elderly person is still a little bit mobile on their own. They said the falls might not decrease until he is completely wheelchair bond.

There is a motion sensor on his bed and the bed is very close to the floor.

It is so hard to watch the mental and physical decline in a man that was so strong before Alzheimers.

The memory care facility my dad was in said it was a requirement for them to call when he fell. Not sure if that was some kind of state requirement or their policy, but they considered it a requirement to notify the primary contact.

My understanding is calls are required by the state for falls, as a bonus my mom’s NH called when she lost a tooth & she lost 2 wisdom teeth.
Aging is not pretty.....

What I witnessed in multiple facilities was aids taking so long to come to their room when they needed help or to go to the bathroom,they try to do things themselves. Ive waited with my mom multiple times for 45 min for an aid to take her to bathroom.(On purpose with my mom's agreement,so I could witness it for myself. Otherwise,I took her myself).
Also I saw the physical therapists in several ALF's so over work the residents that they are weak and in pain after therapy. When the resident complains,they push them harder & think they are being too helpless. Its a no win.
Then they fall because they are too weak to support themselves. The resident is motivated to try to get better so when the physical therapist threatens to remove therapy from them,they keep trying until they eventually fall.
I saw this in 12 different facilities on a regular basis.
I understand they are always low on aids & some aids hide out with their cell phones while some come slowly to the room on purpose hoping the resident will have handled the situation themselves,so they dont have to do anything.
It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to watch,over & over.
No director or staff memmber would listen to me about it or if they did,it was just to yes me,and continue things the same. At times my mom was fearful because when I spoke to someone,she was punished for it,with longer waits. So sad.

I got the same calls for my mom - even for when they were transferring her & her leg gave out so she ended up on the floor but she did a slow semi-controlled 'fall' as the PSW couldn't keep her up but assisted her down so she wouldn't hurt herself however the NH policy is call every time [I called it a slip not a fall] but thereafter there was 2 PSWs to help her transfer

Your mom is falling because someone is there all the time to see it - she might have being some minor falls before that she didn't tell anyone about - my mom fell out of bed a few weeks ago so now there are mats on both sides of the bed & the bed is in lowest position if she will be there alone so as to make any future fall minimized

Be grateful that they call & tell you rather than hiding things from you so many the 'lame excuses' are really accurate accounts - here they need to write a report on all falls that the NH submits to the Ministry of Health as they are tracked & if they see a trend then a procedural policy is initiated

My Mom fell 4x in 4 months at her AL. She wwas considered a fall risk when she was evaluated and RN put in her records she had to use a walker at all times. She spent most of her day in the Common room where the reception desk was and aides were walking thru all the time. I found Mom many times without her walker. Once, I walked in and the LPN was standing right there watching the residents and Mom was walking all over without her walker. When she got to LTC, she was made to use a geri chair. It was the greatest thing. The seat slanted back slightly, making it hard to get out of. If Mom fell asleep, it reclined and had pads on each side of her head where she could rest her head. She would scoot all over in it.

As said, by law they have to call you. Maybe its time for a wheelchair with an alarm. My Moms bed had mats on each side and lowered almost to the floor. She also had a mattress that was concaved to help with her not being able to get out.

Having worked in nursing homes in various capacities( floor nurse, Staff Development, Director of Activities) can tell you falls are most frequent problem. We had to report all falls no matter what cause or how serious. We also had to inform family. There were numerous inservice education programs given on falls prevention. Many devices are tried to prevent falls. As for restraints, they don't seem helpful and distress the patient. Have had patients who climbed over bed rails and released their safety vests( they were tied with special knots) Escaping restraints seems to compound injuries!
If you research falls in the elderly, you will find that either in a nursing home or in their own home, it is the #1 cause of hospitalization. Much of this problem can be tied to some normal decline due to aging(decreased senses, loss of balance, loss of muscle tone) There can be medications that compromise the senses too. Complicated problem! Can't watch 24/7.

I received a call one morning that my father had fallen out of his wheelchair and the facility was sending him to the hospital due to bleeding from a large wound on his forehead. Turns out beside the forehead wound he broke 2 bones in his wrist, broke his nose and sustained an unstable fracture of the c2 cervical vertebrae. The fall was caused by his wheelchair becoming stuck while exiting the elevator. He tried to pull the chair out and instead pulled himself out of the chair and face planted on the floor. Of course this was the beginning of the end for him and he died 2 days before his 95th birthday. The question is was this his fault (my father said it was) the lack of maintance on an elevator that seemed to always have a problem or just an accident, who knows. One of my brothers wants to sue but what would that accomplish as the facility is owned by a big corporation. Sorry just needed to vent.

They are required by law to call you each time a resident/loved one falls.

Yes, it they way of protecting their a**. 😉

I receive many calls from the nursing home about my 83 year old father with dementia. He falls a lot (he told a nurse he was doing it on purpose to get attention). Other calls are to receive approval for medication changes or for wound care. Our skin thins as we age and tears easily. My father is a handful (refuses to use the call button, tries to hit nurses etc.) and I applaud the care he receives. Yes, those calls may be to “cover their a**” as someone said earlier but they are also intended to keep the family involved. Please keep in mind the staff to patient ratio in elder care facilities. If family members expect one on one care then they need to make arrangements other than a group environment.

I received many calls. My dad would forget he could no longer walk after a long hospital stay. He tried to get up and fell right down. No muscle tone.

I cant blame the home for that. After a few years he didnt try anymore thank goodness.
A cna takes care of about 12 residents. There is no way they can be in the room with them 24/7. Its just not possible.

My dad was a falls risk in the hospital before the nursing home. He was brought in because of a bad fall. They put him in a room down a long hall. No other rooms around. He was in the back bed with with curtain dividing the room. You couldnt even see him from the doorway. He fell and had a skull fracture. The hospital didnt bother to call me! I had to ask a nurse why he was talking jibberish. It was brain swelling. He could talk fine b4 that happened. So it can even happen in a big hospital.

The only thing the nursing home can do is to put the mats down and have the bed at the lowest setting. Ive never seen them use a bed alarm. If he stood up it only takes a second for a fall. Even if the bed alarm sounded, the cna cant get there fast enough to grab him. Its impossible.

Even a paid 1 on 1 caretaker could go to the bathroom, and they could fall. You cant blame the caretaker if they have to use the facilities. Things happen. Plus if they have dementia, they might not know what they are doing. They could be thinking their 6 years old again and walking in a field somewhere. You never know.

I know a physio that was walking a pt. The pt fell and had a hip fracture. The person was in their 90s. The family was blaming him. I wouldnt because accidents are just that. Accidents. At 90 your bones are like twigs. Falls are a real problem with seniors. You just hope for the best. Sometimes the elderly will deliberatly wait till they are alone to get up out of bed. They know they arent supposed to get up. They used to tie the residents in bed, but that is concidered inhumane and not done any more.
The only thing you can count on is that after a fall, that 100% certainty they will fall again. You just hope they dont.

Is she mobile by herself? Does she fight with aids? My mom was a pacer. Would sit for a couple of minutes then get up and start again. Her first fall wasn’t too bad. 2nd, 3rd, etc got worse. The alz/dem facility would call each and every time a call occurred and with every little other thing also. I don’t know where you live but Texas is required (and maybe it’s required all over US) to report to family and Senior State Aging Assoc. my mom “escaped” one time early on and the state called the facility and me to say they were investigating what happened. They did and the facility changed the way they did a couple of things. So yes, lots of calls. At the time it was hard but looking back and remembering I would rather have that than not knowing and being blindsided by something. Good luck and God Bless

My LO's MC called every time she fell, AND they called 911. They sent her to the ER every single time, even when there was no obvious injury. Even a slight bump, they sent her to the ER.

When wife was in rehab I would get calls every time she slipped out of bed and landed on the mats next to the bed. It always included her condition. Thankfully no injuries.

Long-Term Care Facilities are required to call the family (responsible party), and doctor each time a resident falls. If the fall is without injury they have 24 hours to notify the family/doctor, if there is an injury they should be notified immediately.

If I have a client who is continually falling in a home one question I have is are there enough staff at the home to monitor the residents?

I have a few clients who can fall every day, sometimes several times a day. Some of these clients are competent. The problem is that these residents refuse to wait for the staff to assist them when they need help claiming that they have to wait 30-60 (or longer) minutes for staff to respond. What I have to determine is are they really having to wait that long (possibly short staffing issues), or are do they have unrealistic expectations and expect the staff to respond immediately to their requests for help? I have seen both.

The staff are required in a home that accepts Medicare/Medicaid to do Care Plans every three months or when there is a significant change in their condition (repeated falls would qualify for this.) If a resident is falling it should be addressed in the Care Plan and the staff should come up with an "action plan" to address the issue. The staff must try all options to keep the resident safe. They may lower the bed and put a mat on the floor, if the resident falls out of bed, they may utilize a personal safety alarm to notify them when a resident stands up if the resident is falling out of a wheelchair, there are many options the staff may try. However, if the resident is competent they may refuse any intervention the staff may want to try, and that is their right.

I had a client who was in a skilled home and she would fall one or two times a day. She was competent and refused any intervention the staff attempted to put into place. Again, she had a right to refuse. The staff documented every fall, and called the family and doctor. One concern the family had was that the home would attempt to discharge her stating that they could not meet her needs. I assured the family that the home could not discharge her due to this because she had a right to refuse. However, we did let the home know that we were aware that she was refusing their help and that we did not hold them responsible for her falls or any injury that occurred as a result of those falls, (and some of those falls did result in injury such as broken bones.)

Some long-term care facilities are "restraint free." Although these homes must still do the Care Plans, they will not offer any type of restraint to help with the situation. Some homes will tell a family it is against the law to restrain. This is NOT true! Restraints can be used when needed to treat a medical condition with a doctor's order. However, there are very strict rules on when a restraint can be used and if used guidelines to follow when they are in use. Families should ask a home when they are looking to admit a loved one if they are "restraint-free?" I have heard some of these "restraint-free" homes tell families that their residents "have a right to fall. Although I think they could explain their policy better it is true.

Yes, I have received calls that my husband (age 88) has fallen or slid out of his wheelchair. I think most of the problem is that he thinks he can still walk and get to the bathroom, etc, without getting help. He has always been very independent and active and this is hard for him to understand with his dementia. I know he tells me that he can go himself when I am there and he has to use the bathroom. He gets very agitated when I tell him I will have to get help. He has reached the place where he can still feed himself but needs help with everything else. Is unable to walk or stand and they use Hoyer lift to move him from wheelchair to recliner or bed.

they did the same calling thing with Dad...frightened me everytime...so why no bed alarm...……….did u ask...it probably goes off too much......the senior is probably trying to go to the bathroom, or has been sleeping all day and they wake up...…….hence the sleep regulation thing by keeping senior in a wheel chair all day to avoid transfers for lunch,dinner etc. looks like a fail senior always wants to sleep..dad was always sleeping in his wheel chair..i would go everyday and take him outside to hear the birds,an feed him a fresh smoothie...…….I had a blender in the room..orangejuice,watermelon,cantaloupe,energy powder,peanut butter whatever was around just pulverized it and he drand two 8 ounce containers everytime!!!!!!

I answered on September 30th based on my experiences in a dozen ALF's about one of the aspects of falls being that the physical therapists require too much on them physically so the therapy has th reverse effect and makes them weak. Also many residents then feel like failures because they can not perform up to the physical therapists expectations. And their own sense of accomplishment makes them feel badly.
Today I read an article by Riley Griffin dated 10/9/2018. The title is:
Nursing Homes Are Pushing the Dying Into Pricey Rehab in Bloomberg Paper. It should be online. Anyhow not only does it confirm what I witnessed but showed how the rehabs are pushing the dying who only lived 30 days more of their life into what he called ultra excessive high rehab. The main reason is the money. Medicare is placing an impossible requirement on our elderly to perform what they can not. And the way the money scam part really shows up is that only the for profit rehabs are exploiting the system and our elderly parents. I have a voice mail from many I saved to get to hear her voice after she passed that I did not realize at the time due to my exhaustion that Im still feeling guilt,none the less.
By this time my mom had been on a puree diet for a year,too weak to chew food but hey she can do rehab. And my mom is an over achiever so she wants to please. Her weight after it being over 3 years from her stroke keeping her in a wheel chair was in the 78 lb weight range. The voicemail is telling me as she is crying that the physical therapist wants her to take more steps with a walker & my mom can not even lift her right leg,period. They had her in a wrong sized wheel chair and told her that she can not get a new right sized one if she did not continue her therapy. Like I said in my other post,I saw many residents fall from being over required of. My mom was already so weak and she passed a month later. Never did get her wheelchair she was desperately needing. And I never knew it was the wrong size all that time. I used to tell my mom in her frail condition that I wish just for one day they had to experience what they put you through. And the intense pain that would last in her muscles from being over worked, or at her weight,I dont think she had muscle anymore. For money,they are making their already difficult last days,horrific.
Believe it or not, I am going to begin going into ALF's as a social worker and hope I can make a difference in the lives of residents that I did not know to do for my mom.

You may want to check on getting her in a high low bed. The bed is lowered to the floor when she is in it. Then when she rolls off, its not a big drop. I've seen where mats are laid next to it so she wouldn't be on the cold, hard floor.

Well, I just got another call from the Nursing Home last night
around 9ish to tell me my Mom fell off the bed. Oh my. They
ordered xrays for her knees and foot. I feel so sorry for her.
How many falls can a 91 year old take before something
serious happens?

Yes it was alarming I thought they were calling to tell me he was deceased...anyway the PROBLEM to me was no alarm on the bed...I said I would
purchase one and they said they did not like them or found them ineffective?
So what about the hall moniter at nite...he cannot see into the room if someone
is on the floor????meaning the bed by the window,u cannot see when someone is on the floor......….The senior was simply trying to get up, off the bed is this
a crime...I can say that if u go with this its simply compliance with inmates...
the nursing home wants the patient on the wheel chair or lying down no movement in the NH...………so your senior will become weaker...……..………...

Well, I got ANOTHER call this afternoon! She fell out of
her wheelchair this time and fell on her face and arms. They sent her to the hospital to get checked out. They took tons
of xrays and had her their all afternoon. I finally got her back to the nursing home and tucked away in bed. I asked the Night Nurse that I want them to get her a Geri Chair since they can't seem to put her in bed in a timely manner.

Of course, he is going to pass my message along to the Head Nurse tomorrow. I will need to follow up. AGAIN,
she was very lucky not to have broken anything. I am so
upset. I hope it will not be a big ordeal for them to get
her a Geri chair in the next couple of days, but I'm not
holding my breath.

I'm sorry to hear this, unfortunately this is a terrible problem that many seniors face. Hopefully the nursing home is willing to work with you on providing a solution to this.
Maybe suggest to them the med mizer allcare bed? It can be lowered to the floor and comes with a 10" high safety mat to place on either or both sides of the bed to help reduce possible injuries.
I hope this helps!!!

Well, here we go AGAIN. I got another call this evening from the Nursing Home to tell me my mother fell out of her wheelchair. I asked where she was and they said in the dining room. Again, they wanted to send her out to the ER for more xrays.

How many times does a patient have to fall before anything can be done?
I talked to the Administrator in October, the last time she fell, and asked for
a customized chair, which I figured that maybe she can be tilted back a little
to help prevent falls. They finally had her fitted, but who knows how long it
will take for her to get her new chair.

Can a complaint be filed for such negligence? If so, with what organization?
I just can't comprehend how many times my mother has fallen out of her
wheelchair. They certainly are not paying close attention to the elderly folks.
I can understand one fall her or there, but not every time I turn around!