I have a family member in a SNF in Florida for physical rehabilitation following a hospital stay. That family member has gotten out of bed and fallen several times. The facility is now demanding that we hire outside workers to facilitate 1:1 supervision with that family member. My question is, is this legal?
Facility rules and regulations should have been provided to you / whoever signed in your family member at the facility. Ask for this information in writing.
The facility is not providing 24/7 round the clock care.
If you want a resident / patient to be watched 24/7 to monitor the possibility of falling out of bed, then it would be up to you to hire / pay for this service ('a sitter').
I believe facility CANNOT demand that you hire an outside caregiver/sitter although if the facility cannot manage care needed for a specific patient / resident, they likely can tell the family (or whoever checked that person into the facility) that they cannot offer the care needed and require the person to be moved from the facility. Additionally, it is a liability issue.
My friend fell out of bed twice (he was bedridden).
They put a 1-2 inch 'padded' mat on the floor to 'break his fall'. Of course, this doesn't do any good although it is what a nursing home facility does in my experience.
There are very strict state/federal rules about bed railings. 'Mostly', only short bed railings are permitted. (I went through this).
I purchased a long 'body pillow' and this helped keep my friend in bed.
He never fell out of bed again.
It depends on the person's mobility (to move/remove a long pillow).
If you want more information, call the licensing board of the facility and ask them. I believe you can find out all you need by talking to the facility administator. County, State and federal laws differ so you need to check in your location/area.
Gena / Touch Matters
You can try and find another SNF rehab which may have a better solution - such as an alarm to let them know when a patient has gotten out of bed. Or hire someone to provide one-on-one 24 hour supervision.
You don't have to hire someone if you have family members willing to volunteer for this job.
Care facilities are not allowed to use any type of physical restraint - even for the patient's safety.
I think I understand a little better why my husband was kicked out of a skilled nursing facility.
He was an extremely difficult patient, rolling out of bed onto the floor, and scooting across the floor, trying to go home. They claimed he had hurt a staff member, and on the third occasion, they called 911 and had him taken to the hospital ER. I had to decide what to do with him, as there was no reason to admit him to the hospital.
I did not advocate for the nursing home to take him back or to keep him there. He was already being neglected and was miserable. I have been taking care of him at home ever since.
I was hit with a pretty big bill. Once his medicaid was approved, which took months, the patient's share of cost was calculated, retroactive 6 months or more, which I had to pay.
Medicare uses reported falls as part of the data used to assess the quality of care provided by nursing homes.
Check the paperwork that was signed upon admission. If there is a clause stating they can require additional caregivers, paid for privately by the patient (or whomever is the responsible party) then yes, it's legal.
Do they put the bed almost to the floor? Put a concaved mattress on the bed? Put mats around the bed? They need to do what they can to make them safe. The law prevents them from using bars or any restraints of anykind.
The real question here is what sort of rehab care is being accomplished here? Not much I am imagining.
I think this is the wrong level of care and memory care and medication may be a better fit for this senior.