Are you sure you want to exit? Your progress will be lost.
Who are you caring for?
Which best describes their mobility?
How well are they maintaining their hygiene?
How are they managing their medications?
Does their living environment pose any safety concerns?
Fall risks, spoiled food, or other threats to wellbeing
Are they experiencing any memory loss?
Which best describes your loved one's social life?
Acknowledgment of Disclosures and Authorization
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment. You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
✔
I acknowledge and authorize
✔
I consent to the collection of my consumer health data.*
✔
I consent to the sharing of my consumer health data with qualified home care agencies.*
*If I am consenting on behalf of someone else, I have the proper authorization to do so. By clicking Get My Results, you agree to our Privacy Policy. You also consent to receive calls and texts, which may be autodialed, from us and our customer communities. Your consent is not a condition to using our service. Please visit our Terms of Use. for information about our privacy practices.
Mostly Independent
Your loved one may not require home care or assisted living services at this time. However, continue to monitor their condition for changes and consider occasional in-home care services for help as needed.
Remember, this assessment is not a substitute for professional advice.
Share a few details and we will match you to trusted home care in your area:
My mom has late stage AD and has fallen 4 times in the last 3 months. Should start sleeping with her at night or is there something else I can do to prevent or minimize her falling?
With a hospital bed, you can raise the head and raise the feet. It'll also have rails. Unless mom is very agile, she'll have difficulty getting out of it. Bed alarm I'd do in a heartbeat so I'd hear when she got up. I know it's disturbing to YOUR sleep, but it's nothing compared to a broken hip and the problems that can result from THAT.
Lock her in her room. I'd do it in a heartbeat if it kept her from wandering the house and falling. Take the box springs off the bed so she'll have a harder time standing up. Maybe even put the mattress on the FLOOR. Heck, I can't get up myself if my knees are a lot higher than my hips. ;)
If she's falling "out of bed," put a mattress next to the bed, so that, if she falls, she has a soft landing.
Maybe some of these ideas, Ba8alou's mostly, will be helpful.
"Late" stages of Alzheimer's will not allow the person to walk, so your mother is not there yet, however, you do not want her falling down. Why is she getting up? Put pads on the bed and water proof undergarments on and side rails on her bed. You can get wrist wraps that loosely prevent her from going over side rails, but try to find out why she is getting up. You can try giving her melatonin at night which will allow her to sleep all night too. I put my mother on a mattress on the floor by our bed and she did not get up. I am such a light sleeper I would have known if she had tried to get up. Good luck!
I can only see her falling simply by trying to walk on a mattress by her bedside! They make thick rubber mats that could serve the same purpose.... if they are soft enough should she fall. Nursing homes used to use those with patients who would fall out of bed. Bed rails of course, and a hospital bed for sure. You would be surprised at what is available from Medicare... I sure was!
To prevent my mother from falling out of bed or easily getting out of bed, I situated her bed in a manner that half her body is covered by furniture. I can't use the bed rails because I'm afraid she'll try to go over them, get tangled in them and really hurt herself. I placed her bed against the wall, put her chest of drawers about three inches from the bed to cover the top of the bed, and bought a somewhat heavy arm chair and put it sideways to cover the bed from the chest of drawers down to about half way down the bed. It covers the bulk of her body. If you are afraid that she will hit her head against the chest of drawers, then put a pillow between the bed and the chest. I would rather she wet the bed or call me out of bed than have her walking around unsupervised and break a hip or a leg - that would be the worst! She doesn't get out of bed as much now because her medication does help her sleep better and longer.
Sounds to me like this patient is in need of a hospital bed. Discuss it with her doctor. The doctors office should have a supplier of durable medical equipment that they deal with (if not find a local one oneline),an RN in the office is usually responsible for being the go between. Getting all the paperwork required by Medicare or whatever the insurance is and thedoctor. Then get it to the supplier. It took a matter of a few weeks and a brand new motorized hospital bed, sidrails, mattress with a gel overlay were delivered. They know the procedure. For a year you pay a copay about $20 a month. When the year is over with the proper documentation the bed is yours. As the others have said with the side rails and the beepers they have if she moves off the mattress, I would also purchase a baby monitor so you can be awakened should she find a way out. Locking her in her room is a terrible idea. Scary and mean. Falling is unfortunately the beginning of a series of events that could end badly. Please speak with her doctor. I also think a mild dose of ativan for sleep could help.
it is quite difficult to give an answer if with the information provided. everyone has provided viable suggestions for different scenario's, however, it is best to know the mechanism of the fall, does she fall during the day, etc. If you are a family/layman caregiver you should discuss with your MD about getting a home health evaluation or eldercare evaluation, if she does not fulfill the requirements for home health. Get trained eyes in the home for evaluation and suggestions. National Alzheimer's Association may be able to provide direction. Best of luck
Like my mom always said "you've got to die of something. She could be having mini strokes or just weak. But I don't care where she is, she can fall. It happens in nursing homes and assisted living. So as much as you try to keep it from happening, you may not be able to completely. My mom would use her walker and did have falls. Broke her pelvis twice. She would get up and walk with the broken pelvis in rehab and no walker because they would take it away. She was supposed to call for help they said. But she couldn't remember that or that her pelvis was broken. The second broken pelvis was her final straw. At 90 1/2 she passed away in Hospice. She was a trooper until the end!
hi @ibjunior, A hospital bed is sometimes v useful, but as a geriatrician I can tell you that in the hospital we *don't* raise all the rails on elderly patients because of risk that they'll get hurt trying to climb out over them.
One option would be to try a very low bed e.g. a mattress on the floor.
For falls at night I would also recommend reviewing medications. Most drugs for sleep/sedation/anxiety increase fall risk.
The other suggestions here, re looking into why she's getting up at night and why she's falling are also v good.
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
Lock her in her room. I'd do it in a heartbeat if it kept her from wandering the house and falling. Take the box springs off the bed so she'll have a harder time standing up. Maybe even put the mattress on the FLOOR. Heck, I can't get up myself if my knees are a lot higher than my hips. ;)
If she's falling "out of bed," put a mattress next to the bed, so that, if she falls, she has a soft landing.
Maybe some of these ideas, Ba8alou's mostly, will be helpful.
A hospital bed is sometimes v useful, but as a geriatrician I can tell you that in the hospital we *don't* raise all the rails on elderly patients because of risk that they'll get hurt trying to climb out over them.
One option would be to try a very low bed e.g. a mattress on the floor.
For falls at night I would also recommend reviewing medications. Most drugs for sleep/sedation/anxiety increase fall risk.
The other suggestions here, re looking into why she's getting up at night and why she's falling are also v good.
Good luck!
See All Answers