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Godspeed4me Asked April 2019

Please provide fall prevention tips for 69 year old woman in wheelchair who resides in a rehabilitation facility and has fallen 7 times!

She is 69 and survived a near fatal heart attack, followed by a three week coma on Christmas Day 2018.


She is now in a rehabilitation facility in a wheelchair but continues to get up from her wheelchair forgetting that it is unsafe due to resulting memory lapse.


She cannot fall again without fatal outcomes. The facility doesn’t allow restraints.

freqflyer Apr 2019
Godspeed4me, falls are very common and the Staff is limited on what they can do. Even if I had hired a caregiver to be with Mom at long-term-care, the caregiver couldn't be glued to Mom every second.

My own Mom would try to stand up and walk because her brain was telling her she could do that, but unfortunately she was no longer able to stand up due to major memory loss. The Staff had Mom in a wheelchair, and Mom would either try to stand up or pick up something her brain said was on the floor and roll out of the wheelchair. Staff tried to use a seat-belt, but Mom would unclick it within seconds... [sigh]

My Mom was also placed by the nurses station but falls happen in a split second that it was impossible for the nurses/aides to get to her before it happened.

A geri-recliner helped a lot, the Staff would put a pillow under my Mom's knees which was difficult for Mom to pull out.... but a few times she did. But because the way the recliner tilted Mom couldn't easily get out to try to stand up.

My Mom would also try to get up out of bed to walk someplace, and of course she would fall. The Staff lowered the bed and put safety mats around the sides of the bed to help cushion the fall. They even placed small pillows around Mom
and that helped but then Mom couldn't roll over to another sleeping position, thus her back would hurt.

Sadly there isn't much a facility can do :(
Godspeed4me Apr 2019
Thank you so much! This helps.
Ahmijoy Apr 2019
When my mother started falling repeatedly in Memory Care, the nurses moved her to a room directly across from the nurse’s station so they could keep an eye on her. No facility allows restraints.

Falling seven times is not acceptable. You need to call a care conference with the staff and brainstorm about how to keep her in her chair. A motion alarm? A chair that tilts back so she cannot get up so easily? Ask that the therapists be at the conference and ask them what they suggest. Find out what the technicalities of “restraints” are and ask if there is any way around them.
Godspeed4me Apr 2019
Thank you so much! This helps.

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