Mom repeatedly falls at her ALF usually in her room. What to do?

Update on Mom falling: Hospice has started up. A previous evaluation several months ago said too soon, but this time this agency agrees. They provided an electric bed that lowers to the floor and foam mats around it and a commode chair next to the bed and they will pay for the disposable underwear . Plus, they are taking the 3 a.m. fall report calls and coming out to check her over minimizing trips to the ER. But good news folks, Mom has not fallen (at least unattended) since hospice got a bed that lowers to the floor. Apparently most of the time she was falling she was getting out of bed in the night and tipping over.

The other thing hospice is doing is providing me with somebody to talk to about the details of Mom's care and they are familiar with people at this level of dementia. So, things are slightly better.

Board & care maybe? 6 person homes are better for some folk (no laying on the floor for hours, since it's usually 6 residents & 2 staff at all times). Surprisingly less expensive than most SNF. Still need to shop around -- some are excellent, some not so good.

ON the floor a couple of hours? Thats ridiculous, get her out of there asap. She needs one on one care, like at home with someone. Omg poor thing, that makes me sick to my stomach to read, broken bones too, how sad!

OK, yes, it sounds like she definitely needs something done. Is it possible for someone to walk with her when she goes to her room? Is there also a tripping hazard in that area? These are two things to consider. Also, I may want to share that my surrogate dad was also in ALF, but he lived alone. It wasn't until his second hospitalization within a very short time that he was placed into a nursing home where he would no longer be alone. Assisted-living does allow a person to have their own apartment, but there are people who do come in to check on the residents. Other than that, they can live alone in their own apartment. The only requirement is that the residents must be able to take care of themselves while living at the facility, and this includes emergencies such as a fall. My surrogate dad was deemed incompetent to carry-on independent living any longer. He is brand-new apartment was immediately taken away from him after his second hospitalization within a week. I found this to be shocking because if APS didn't really want dad to have his own apartment, they should've never given it to him to start with. This was very hard on us considering he just got the apartment within a matter of days before it was taken away.

Sophe, I do feel for you. I wish there was an answer.

My cousin, who has Vascular Dementia mixed with AD, also fell a lot. She would forget to use her walker and her balance was so bad, that even with a walker, she would fall backwards.

At first she was in regular Assisted Living. She fell repeatedly, fracturing her hand, her foot and her spine. That could not supervise her sufficiently. Eventually she ended up in a wheelchair and that was the only thing that stopped her falls. She can stand up to transfer, but other than that, she can't walk anymore. She can move her legs to propel in the wheelchair, but she cannot move them to walk. I think the stage of the dementia actually impacts their desire and ability to walk too. As your mom's condition progresses, she may stop trying to walk.

I had to move my cousin to a Memory Care facility and almost everyone in there is in a wheelchair. It was a relief in a way, as we are not ending up with her and fractures every week.

Sophe509 does she fall out of bed? The lowered bed and a cushion next to it don't prevent falls, but lessen the risk of serious injury. The nursing home has done that for my mother.

When my husband was falling all the time, even with a walker, a wheelchair was much safer for him. He loved that he could scoot around safely, using his feet. But he was not as memory-impaired at that point as your mother is.

The falling is extremely challenging. I wish you and your mother some success, at least at minimizing the injury risk.

Private1...Mom is in an assisted living facility (ALF) now, and has 24 hour care including meals, laundry, help with bathing, housekeeping, etc. It's just when she falls in her room the don't catch it fast enough and she can be on the floor for a couple hours at a time. She does not live alone.

If by chance your mom lives alone, at least there will be someone there if she's committed into a nursing home. They can give her the care she needs because she won't be living alone if she's committed into a nursing home. If your mom lives alone and has in the home visiting nurses and health aides, they can't be there all the time. One elderly friend of mine had this service and he lived alone until he got to the point it was time to move him to a nursing home for a higher level of care that he was long overdue for.

I have ordered a mont-to-month pendant that automatically notifies by phone if she falls. Plus I'm paying for loss insurance if she puts it in the trash (!). It won't stop the falls but it will keep her from laying or sitting on the floor for hours. It calls the ALF, then me, so I'll know every time she falls. I hope that will help a little. As far as a high level of care, I don't understand what they will do that the ALF isn't doing already?

I agree with those who suggested a higher level of care because it sounds to me like that's what she needs. Another secret that I must reveal you is something that someone revealed to me. What was revealed to me is that patients with more money are the ones who get the better care and equipment. When I heard this, I was actually pretty surprised by what I heard, because if you think about it, it does take lots of money to be able to supply the needs of every patient in those homes, especially when it comes to medical equipment. From what I've noticed, government issued insurance for instance, pays out as little as absolutely possible for any needed medical equipment a patient needs. Sometimes that equipment may not be the best as it would be for someone who is able to pay for better equipment out of their own money. If you do get your loved one a higher level of care, definitely do your homework, and do it very well so that you can go into this with your eyes wide open and know what to expect. Another thing I think I should reveal to you is something that I noticed many years ago in our local hospital when another elderly friend of mine was hospitalized for pneumonia. There were two beds in his room. One had a cheap innerspring mattress, whereas the other one was a sand bed which conformed very well to the body. Both of those beds were empty when my friend was admitted, and he had little to no money, so you can just about bet which bed is insurance would cover, and it was definitely not the good one which was indeed empty when he was admitted. This is just another example of what I'm talking about when it comes to care and equipment equality. Before getting your mom a higher level of care, definitely do your homework and find out as much as you possibly can about the equipment she will be able to use among other stuff you should expect. I do know what I'm talking about because I've actually seen what I'm describing happen. Anytime we have to commit any of our loved ones to a care facility, we always want the best for them as well as equality of care and equipment. Unfortunately, this doesn't always happen. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this is definitely a fact, sad but true. Another thing I've noticed is that workers within the nursing homes are more likely to be more careful with someone who has family coming in to see them. It's also a well known fact that those who have no one are at higher risk of being abused and neglected. Before he committing your mom to a nursing home, you want to find out the rating of any potential home but you're considering for her because ratings vary between nursing homes. There are many things to consider before committing someone to a nursing home because you don't want to make a mistake you'll regret later. Finally, if you're must have your mom resort to the use of a wheelchair, you'll definitely want to make sure she has the best one she can possibly get. A friend of mine has his mom in a nursing home and she uses a wheelchair since she can fall. One time she got out of that wheelchair and actually fell, so now she doesn't get out of it too often.

Sophe we had 8 trips to the ER in one year, with Mom in Assisted Living. I was really surprised they let her stay as long as they did. They finally said they could not take her back, so she ended up in skilled nursing and fell there too. They lowered her bed to the floor. When you see a patient with the low bed and a sponge mat next to it, you're looking at severe dementia.

Agree with freqflyer, there is no way to stop the falls. My mother had a bed alarm that when weight was removed the alarm sounded at the nursing station which was right next to her room. She couldn't stand alone but sometimes tried to get out of bed and the alarm went off. Staff were close by and came running but by then she was on the floor again.

A third in agreement, time for your Mom to get another level of care. But there is no guarantee that your Mom wouldn't fall in a continuing care facility, as one can fall in an instant even with Staff in the same room.

There isn't anything anyone can do to stop the falls, it is just part of getting older. My Dad was always tumbling over at least every week, so physical therapy suggested he get a rolling walker... what a difference as Dad didn't like using the walker that only had one set of wheels... how he loved the 4 wheel walker and he had no problem learning about the braking system. Plus Dad's Caregivers have pretty much trained him to use THE DARN WALKER.

My Mom refused to use a walker as she was afraid it would make her look old.... she was 97 at the time, so I guess she would finally use it when she was 107.

I agree with Babalou regarding the life alert system and your mom possibly needing a higher level of care. One of these falls may take away your options someday soon.

Pendant system would pronto help; she wouldn't remember to use it, or would be able to figure it out. It really sounds as though she needs a higher level of care, such as memory care, where the patients are able to be eye balled by staff 4/7. This must be so stressful for you; I'm so sorry!