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Or will I have to go through a long drawn out process to get her one? Does anyone know? My mom keeps falling out of her regular wheelchair and nothing has been done to help prevent the falls, so I figured a Geri Chair will be harder to fall out of when they neglect to put her in bed sooner than later.

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Thanks to government regulations, geri-chairs are considered restraints, especially since you want it to prevent her from getting out of wheelchair. They are rolling out new regulations making fall alarms off limits too and the patient has to agree to the alarm. Even if the the patient has advanced dementia. It wont be enough for the POA to agree to it. It almost seems like the government WANTS patients to fall.
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This is insane. It doesn't make any sense and it DOES seem
like the government wants the elderly to fall. These laws are
putting many seniors in a position to have serious injuries!
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worriedinCali Oct 2018
Well these laws are because a lot of people were killed or seriously injured when restraints were allowed. It’s not like they are doing this because they want elders to fall.
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Again, I live in NJ. My Mom had a chair that had vinyl slats like a beach chair. The seat could be positioned so it slanted down to the back so she had a harder time getting up. Mom was able to scoot around in it. It reclined so if she napped they could put it back and there were cushions on each side of her head for comfort. Her NH provided the chair because I signed nothing to purchase one. Ask the head nurse. If it needs to be purchased, the NH should help you with the paperwork.
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Grandma1954 Oct 2018
This is the exact description of the Broda Chair that Hospice provided for my Husband.
When the patient has no or little trunk support it becomes a safety issue.
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My understanding is that restraints aren't used because its against a residents rights. When ur placed in a Nursing facility, you are a resident not a patient. The facility is now ur home and you cannot make a person do what they don't want to.
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please contact your Ombudsman at your facility to assist you in getting what you need for your loved one
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Suggest to them a Med-Mizer FlexTilt Chair. It will recline but also tilt the resident back to keep them in a cradled position, greatly reducing the chances of a fall.
Honestly, it's crazy that they keep her in a regular wheelchair if she keeps falling! Stay on top of them and demand for something else
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MaryKathleen Oct 2018
I just looked it up, they cost about $5,000. Would medicare or medicaid pick it up?
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I had a Broda Chair for my Husband it had supports on the side as well, sort of like the old Wing Back Chairs and the seat tilted back so that he could not slump forward. We go this through the Hospice he was on. We did try the Geri Chair but it did not work as well as the Broda
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cetude Oct 2018
Broda chairs are several thousand dollars. I'm surprised Medicare approved it.
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Geri chairs may be considered a restraint and may be against the law at your locale. Ask the nursing administration. They should know.
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My mom also started falling over and out of her wheelchair and the Med-Mizer FlexTilt Chair was suggested and ordered by the home healthcare team. However, it is covered under Medicare, but it's a long drawn-out process to get it approved. Fortunately/unfortunately, my mom went on hospice care and they got the chair in like a day or two.
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First thing tdo is ask the physician assigned to her...if he says ok they may do it...If not you may gave to purchase...

Grace + Peace,

Bob
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Caregiverhelp11; I got a regular wheelchair for my mom the dr. Just gave her a prescription then we went to fitzimmons (closed down now) I left with a new chair.Then when my Aunt needed a new chair Dr. Gave her a prescription ..and i called Lynn care .Because it goes by the county you live in it was so nice Lynn care contacted my Aunts Dr.to get all aunties medical information and medical insurance cards the Drs.office and Lynn care handeled it from there and soon enough we had a new Wherlchair delivered!! But if you speak to the nursing home social worker and or administrator they can help you to get a chair with a seatbelt in it if the nurseing home that your mom is in allows your mom to be restrained some places do not allow any type of restraints some places cant even have full length bed rails so definatally speak to the administrator or social worker....they will let you know where to get one what company to go thrugh and maybe even have one .....just get there before management leaves for the day .There are also Alarms that can be attached to mom and wheelchair that will SOUND OF A LOUD NOISE if mom tries to get up...GOOD LUCK!!@
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Go through the LO's doctor. If the doctor deems it medically necessary, he/she will write an RX for it.
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A different tactic might be, instead of asking for a Geri Chair specifically, ask them what equipment/chair might be helpful to keep her from falling? And what will they be doing to try to keep her from falling since the current situation is not working. And how could this equipment be obtained? Perhaps if facility has PT or OT, they could be consulted with recommendations; I am not familiar with the recommendations here but they sound like good suggestions so ask if they would work. Medicare pays for DME (not all DME) but it requires a lot of paperwork as is stated here and the cost to Medicare for everyone who wants any type of special equipment would be enormous so I get that they make it difficult. In some cases, preferred DME (durable medical equipment) providers might be able to handle the paperwork for you as long as you have a physician order. That is why I suggest you get some recommendations for chairs that would be effective because you probably will not be able to try a different one if the one you get does not work well. So, I would start by confirming the chair you want and if in your state, a Geri Chair is a restraint, then that will not be an option. Even pick one of the ones suggested here, and google it and contact a couple of providers in your area (they can be national providers so they don't have to be in your state; they will ship it), explain what you need, and ask them how to do it. Don't buy anything or agree to anything, just do the research. You need to find a reputable company. But these places will handle Medicare, will probably bill them and provide the chair while waiting.
You really cannot expect the nursing home to do this for you; they cannot just "provide a chair".
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Thanks to all of you and your suggestions and info.
It turns out, I finally got the Administrator to get the ball rolling. She had the Director of Therapy contact me. She told
me she was going to evaluate my Mother and call a Wheel
Chair Specialist come out to measure Mom for a Custom
Fitted Chair that does tilt back and has various adjustments for her legs. The Geri Chairs are considered restraints. The Chair alarms are also considered restraints, along with any type of seat belt for the chair.

I am so happy to see that they did come out yesterday to measure her. Hopefully everything will work out for the best and she should be getting it in about 2 weeks from what I understand. I just wish they had suggested getting her one a LONG time ago. She has fallen many times.
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I got my husband a custom wheelchair like Caregiver11 mentioned. A friend of mine who is an occupational therapist suggested that he might qualify for it and told me that the first thing to do was to have an occupational therapist evaluation and if the OT thought he need it it would be covered by Medicare. It is a "tilt-in-space" chair and also has a reclining back, and is fitted to his measurements and has special cushioning to discourage pressure sores. It did take a couple of months (partly due to misunderstandings and mistakes in paperwork) but Medicare paid for it. He isn't in a facility, he is at home, but if he ever has to go to a facility his chair will certainly accompany him.
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