Mom lives in care facility. She is supposed to call for help when she needs to move, but keeps forgetting, falls and breaks something. Advice?

It would be nice if staff could make rounds more often or place her where she can be seen by a staff at all times. But that will not be likely. Most facilities are understaffed as it is. And your mom is surely not the only one who needs more supervision. Even if she wears some kind of alarm, by the time it is heard and responded to, she may be on the floor. The same is true of in-room cameras (if allowed).
A lawyer will be no help until AFTER she sustains an injury.

The only helpful solution I've seen is to place certain residents in sight of the nurses station, where at least some personnel are nearby much of the time. Some wheelchairs have a tray attached to the arms. This makes it difficult to get out of the chair and an attempt to exit makes enough noise to alert anyone nearby. It's not an ideal solution, though. And soft restraints are usually not allowed because of the dangers they present.

The idea of a seat that inclines slightly toward the rear is probably good. It could be difficult for residents to get out of. But most anyone who tries hard enough to leave their bed or chair, will likely succeed eventually! And some are desperate enough to "go home" that they will work hard to do so. Some families who can afford it employ a "sitter" for nighttime hours.

Sorry I cannot supply a practical and totally safe approach to the problem.

Poor woman. She probably has osteoporosis. Ask staff how often they can make rounds to her room or wherever she is. A better goal would be for the staff to see her frequently and ask her if she needs anything.

Gracewings: Unfortunately, elders experience falls at a high rate without any recourse to be able to halt them.

Its pure neglect of the nursing homes. Get legal help. If she a fall risk, should have an alarm ⏰ on her bed, and a FALL RISK" BRACELET ON. ITS NOT RESIDENTS FAULT. ITS UNDERSTAFFED OF THE FACILITIES. 1 TIME FALLING, IS TOO MUCH, MUCH LESS FALLING 3X, AND SEVERELY INJURED. 😠 😡 GET A LAWYER, BEFORE SHE ENDS UP FALLING, AGAIN AND DIES FROM INJURIES, AND AGAIN ITS NEGLECT.

When my mom had her stroke she had some right side deficit for maybe a week which caused them to label her a Fall Risk which meant her bed and the hair in her room had an alarm that went off when she sat up and got up on the edge of the bed. It’s not a perfect system and didn’t prevent her from getting up if someone didn’t come quick but she hated it and didn’t like setting it off so it helped her remember to call. The label has stuck with her which drives her nuts but isn’t a bad thing really for various reasons. Anyway I would think the facility would have this system or something like it available. The other idea I had was some sort of barrier, bed tables for instance, that she would need to physically move to get up and has a big sign on it reminding her to call for help first, maybe?

Good luck, major falls and breaks are one of my main nightmares!

By care do you mean a Long term care facility? Does she have Dementia because if so, she can't remember to call. If she is a constant fall risk, she needs to be in a wheelchair with an alarm. She needs to be in the common area during the day where aides have an eye on her. This is what they had to do with my Mom. Not once did she go to the hospital in the 5 months she was there.

Not so with the AL. The Head RN had it written that Mom was to use her walker at all times. Many a time when I went to visit she was not using it. Mom had neuropathy in her ankles and feet. She fell 4x in 4 months and sent to the hospital each time. TG no broken bones. She was not suppose to pivot.

I found Mom was much safer in the LTC than the AL. The facility found a geri chair that the seat reclined backwards making it hard to stand up. It had cushions on both sides of her head so if she dozed off her head would not slump over. The back could recline to make dozing more comfortable. She could skoot around in it too. I loved that chair.

My dad could remember to ask for help and the awful falls still happened. Once when I was standing right beside him, still happened. I know how frustrating it can be. Ask for a care conference and talk with staff about what may help. A bed and/or chair alarm will at least alert staff more quickly, placing pads on floor at bedside, seeing if a different level of care is appropriate, etc. But sadly know that nothing short of encasing her in bubble wrap may help much. I’m sorry you’re going through this, it’s so very hard to watch

I'm afraid ZippyZee is right, there is very little that can be done to eliminate falls risks altogether.

Your mother probably can't remember to use her call button to request help with mobilising, and for all sorts of legally-binding reasons (some excellent and some of them just irritating bureaucratic cloud-cuckoo tosh) it is unlikely that her facility would be able or prepared to introduce any measures to prevent her moving around freely. When I say "remember" it isn't even a case of memory, which is why signs and post-it notes don't help either. On standing, it does not enter a person's head that she needs support with it. She feels the need to get up. She doesn't pause for thought or read the cheerful little sign or notice the big bright button on her table. She gets up. Down she goes. In that moment, using the call button has simply not occurred to her.

Some of our clients have Vibro wrist alarms which detect impacts or sudden changes in position and go off automatically. This does ensure that help is summoned even if the person can't use a falls alarm independently; but for one thing they often drive users and caregivers round the bend because they can be equally sensitive to movements such as taking your cardigan off or turning over too energetically in bed, and for another they, like all falls alarms, are only wise after the event. The unicorn alarm is the one that tells us *before* the person wants to get up and move around.

What is the facility suggesting to help her?

Not really much can be done, unfortunately. Stand up from the chair your sitting in. Took maybe 3-5 seconds, right? That's how long it can take a senior to try to stand and fall.

Best bet is to minimize the damage from falls with padding and cushioning.