Anonymous
12/05/2025 17:48
Subject: 81 Dad Keeps Falling in Rehab Center - They Say Can’t Restrain or Extend Bedrails
Get a neurological-ideally an MRI. My grandmother developed something due to atrophy in her early 80s where she was constantly falling if not in a wheel chair.
Anonymous
12/05/2025 02:51
Subject: 81 Dad Keeps Falling in Rehab Center - They Say Can’t Restrain or Extend Bedrails
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:wait. bed rails aren't allowed? we have those for my parents. why are they bad? should we get rid of them??
They lead to choking and death if the parent rolls into them. They have not been used in Florida facilities for many, many years.
The US Drug and Food Enforcement Agency has an article about this issue:
Bed Rail Entrapment Statistics
Today there are about 2.5 million hospital and nursing home beds in use in the United States. Between 1985 and January 1, 2009, 803 incidents of patients* caught, trapped, entangled, or strangled in beds with rails were reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Of these reports, 480 people died, 138 had a nonfatal injury, and 185 were not injured because staff intervened. Most patients were frail, elderly or confused."
So because 480 mainly frail, elderly, and confused people died out of 2.5 MILLION hospital/nursing beds in the US over the span of FOURTEEN YEARS. That is 34 deaths a year on average.
So now instead of 34 elderly and confused people who didn't have long to live anyways dying, you have thousands and thousands of nursing home employees working on their knees as they do duties such as:
administering medications,
turning and lifting residents,
changing linens and clothing, and
transferring residents to chairs and other devices.
Or loved one are told (like the RN who posted) "Hire a 1:1"
Then when people can't afford the thousands of dollars for a 1:1 the nursing home figures out the only way they can deal with the situation is to drug patients but of course the nurse says don't let the nursing home do that either.
The whole thing is so ridiculous. More people died each year from dog attacks than bedrails but we don't ban dogs.
Exactly this!!!!
Anonymous
12/05/2025 02:49
Subject: 81 Dad Keeps Falling in Rehab Center - They Say Can’t Restrain or Extend Bedrails
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:wait. bed rails aren't allowed? we have those for my parents. why are they bad? should we get rid of them??
IMHO if they work, they work. What’s the worst that can happen after 80 to a person who already needs bedrails
Parent rolls into bedrail, can't roll back, they choke and asphyxiate and die.
At the young age of 80. In a condition where you need to have bedrails.
Anonymous
12/05/2025 00:35
Subject: 81 Dad Keeps Falling in Rehab Center - They Say Can’t Restrain or Extend Bedrails
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:wait. bed rails aren't allowed? we have those for my parents. why are they bad? should we get rid of them??
They lead to choking and death if the parent rolls into them. They have not been used in Florida facilities for many, many years.
The US Drug and Food Enforcement Agency has an article about this issue:
Bed Rail Entrapment Statistics
Today there are about 2.5 million hospital and nursing home beds in use in the United States. Between 1985 and January 1, 2009, 803 incidents of patients* caught, trapped, entangled, or strangled in beds with rails were reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Of these reports, 480 people died, 138 had a nonfatal injury, and 185 were not injured because staff intervened. Most patients were frail, elderly or confused."
So because 480 mainly frail, elderly, and confused people died out of 2.5 MILLION hospital/nursing beds in the US over the span of FOURTEEN YEARS. That is 34 deaths a year on average.
So now instead of 34 elderly and confused people who didn't have long to live anyways dying, you have thousands and thousands of nursing home employees working on their knees as they do duties such as:
administering medications,
turning and lifting residents,
changing linens and clothing, and
transferring residents to chairs and other devices.
Or loved one are told (like the RN who posted) "Hire a 1:1"
Then when people can't afford the thousands of dollars for a 1:1 the nursing home figures out the only way they can deal with the situation is to drug patients but of course the nurse says don't let the nursing home do that either.
The whole thing is so ridiculous. More people died each year from dog attacks than bedrails but we don't ban dogs.
Anonymous
12/03/2025 17:34
Subject: 81 Dad Keeps Falling in Rehab Center - They Say Can’t Restrain or Extend Bedrails
Anonymous wrote:wait. bed rails aren't allowed? we have those for my parents. why are they bad? should we get rid of them??
If they try to climb over the rails to get out, they potentially fall farther than if the rails were not there, or get caught in the rails and break bones.
Anonymous
12/03/2025 07:03
Subject: 81 Dad Keeps Falling in Rehab Center - They Say Can’t Restrain or Extend Bedrails
Nursing homes and rehabs are a senior citizens home.
Belts in wheelchairs, straps to tie down in bed, and bed rails are all classified as restraints as they prevent free movement of a senior in his or her home.
Physical restraints cause mental distress in seniors and injuries and death.
A senior will survive a 6" fall from a bed dropped to the floor rolling onto a gym pad.
A senior can die rolling into bedrails and choking.
Belts in wheelchairs, straps to tie down in bed, and bed rails are all classified as restraints as they prevent free movement of a senior in his or her home.
Physical restraints cause mental distress in seniors and injuries and death.
A senior will survive a 6" fall from a bed dropped to the floor rolling onto a gym pad.
A senior can die rolling into bedrails and choking.
Anonymous
12/03/2025 06:52
Subject: 81 Dad Keeps Falling in Rehab Center - They Say Can’t Restrain or Extend Bedrails
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:wait. bed rails aren't allowed? we have those for my parents. why are they bad? should we get rid of them??
IMHO if they work, they work. What’s the worst that can happen after 80 to a person who already needs bedrails
Parent rolls into bedrail, can't roll back, they choke and asphyxiate and die.
Anonymous
12/03/2025 06:51
Subject: 81 Dad Keeps Falling in Rehab Center - They Say Can’t Restrain or Extend Bedrails
Anonymous wrote:wait. bed rails aren't allowed? we have those for my parents. why are they bad? should we get rid of them??
They lead to choking and death if the parent rolls into them. They have not been used in Florida facilities for many, many years.
Anonymous
12/03/2025 00:22
Subject: 81 Dad Keeps Falling in Rehab Center - They Say Can’t Restrain or Extend Bedrails
Anonymous wrote:wait. bed rails aren't allowed? we have those for my parents. why are they bad? should we get rid of them??
IMHO if they work, they work. What’s the worst that can happen after 80 to a person who already needs bedrails
Anonymous
12/02/2025 22:24
Subject: 81 Dad Keeps Falling in Rehab Center - They Say Can’t Restrain or Extend Bedrails
wait. bed rails aren't allowed? we have those for my parents. why are they bad? should we get rid of them??
Anonymous
12/02/2025 22:22
Subject: 81 Dad Keeps Falling in Rehab Center - They Say Can’t Restrain or Extend Bedrails
OP, all I can tell you is that my brother and sister are doctors and when the hospital wanted to discharge her to rehab, they refused. Said she would not get good care, based on their professional experience, and would be better off at home.
We have 24-7 help at home and when we told the caregivers about the rehab option those who had worked in rehabs told us, "Shoot, you put her in rehab, they'll check on her twice a day." They were not looking after their own paychecks, as we needed them at home to look after our other parent.
It's expensive and hard to set up, but if you can manage it, your parent may be better off at home with a caregiver.
As for the restraint issue - we are in a different state. We had a wheelchair with a seatbelt and a geri chair with a tray. I did not understand that those were restraints. I do think they increased the decline of my parent's able-ness. It's probably good the restraints are not allowed.
We have 24-7 help at home and when we told the caregivers about the rehab option those who had worked in rehabs told us, "Shoot, you put her in rehab, they'll check on her twice a day." They were not looking after their own paychecks, as we needed them at home to look after our other parent.
It's expensive and hard to set up, but if you can manage it, your parent may be better off at home with a caregiver.
As for the restraint issue - we are in a different state. We had a wheelchair with a seatbelt and a geri chair with a tray. I did not understand that those were restraints. I do think they increased the decline of my parent's able-ness. It's probably good the restraints are not allowed.
Anonymous
12/02/2025 22:02
Subject: 81 Dad Keeps Falling in Rehab Center - They Say Can’t Restrain or Extend Bedrails
Anonymous wrote:Hi - title says it all. We are in Maryland. My dad is in a new rehab facility due to a fall in his apartment and has fallen 3 times in the past week. This is his 4th rehab stay over several years but in different facilities (first was for a stroke about 10 years ago) and then he has had a few other stays unrelated to falling. He can ordinarily walk with a hemi walker or regular walker.
During this stay he has fallen 3 times. When I come and visit him, they have him parked in his wheelchair at the nurses desk because they say they are understaffed and they will have him parked there for hours at a time. He asks repeatedly to go lay down in his room and they will refuse because they say he is a fall risk.
Also his bedrails only extend 1/3 of his bed so a little above the waist. Two times he has fallen from trying to adjust himself and ended sliding off of the side bed (which could have been prevented with full railings on he side). They claim they cannot put him in a bed with railing along the entire side of the bed because he may hurt himself and they also cannot restrain him at the waist (as was done in the hospital) for the same reason - because he may hurt himself.
I’m trying to see if this is the norm. This was never an issue in other facilities where he has been and he has never before fallen in a facility.
My former MIL’s bed was lowered to the ground basically during the last four months of her life.
Anonymous
12/02/2025 08:38
Subject: 81 Dad Keeps Falling in Rehab Center - They Say Can’t Restrain or Extend Bedrails
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I would try to pay for a 1:1. You really, really don’t want them getting an order for a chemical restraint — which absolutely IS legal in Md, unlike physical restraint.
On that note, demand to see his current comprehensive med list since he was admitted to rehab.
Sometimes overburdened facilities will ask for and get a new order for a calming drug. from the off-site consulting MD. Really sketch and common. ie, a bedtime dose of haldol or ativan for “agitation.” Getting out of bed multiple times makes a compelling case for “agitation” to an off-site prescriber.
Good luck
— an RN
DP.
Honest question, what is wrong with this type of medication? Sorry for being clueless but if it helps not fall?!
It's not all good or all bad. These medications can be lifesavers when there is agitation. But, they are heavy duty meds that have side effects. So you want to be sure they are needed, which means that the prescriber knows the patient. And, if they are given, you want the patient's condition to be closely monitored. What PP is talking about is that in some facilities (many actually) the doctors are part time and don't really know the patients. They rely on the hospital staff to provide the information. To add to the difficulty, many patients get very confused in new environments, creating an even greater risk for things like falls. And, that can present as agitation.
I am not PP, but the concern I expressed upthread is whether the medical condition of the patient has been fully evaluated. A medication evaluation would be part of that. But, so would blood work. For example, low hemoglobin could make a person at risk of falls. And a cognitive evaluation. OP's father is in a rehab center, which tend to offer good medical care. So hopefully they are looking at everything.
Anonymous
12/02/2025 01:40
Subject: 81 Dad Keeps Falling in Rehab Center - They Say Can’t Restrain or Extend Bedrails
Anonymous wrote:I would try to pay for a 1:1. You really, really don’t want them getting an order for a chemical restraint — which absolutely IS legal in Md, unlike physical restraint.
On that note, demand to see his current comprehensive med list since he was admitted to rehab.
Sometimes overburdened facilities will ask for and get a new order for a calming drug. from the off-site consulting MD. Really sketch and common. ie, a bedtime dose of haldol or ativan for “agitation.” Getting out of bed multiple times makes a compelling case for “agitation” to an off-site prescriber.
Good luck
— an RN
DP.
Honest question, what is wrong with this type of medication? Sorry for being clueless but if it helps not fall?!
Anonymous
12/01/2025 21:42
Subject: 81 Dad Keeps Falling in Rehab Center - They Say Can’t Restrain or Extend Bedrails
While in a care facility my mother’s bed lowered way down to the floor so if she rolled off the bed it would be about a one foot fall - see if they can do this.