Her first night under hospice care she fell out of the bed hit her head and ended up with a huge gash requiring six staples to close the gash. I was very upset and ask the nursing home owners how this happened. The said they don't know. But I'd forgot to say my mom hasn't walked in years and requires turning every two hours. I kept asking and one nurse said when she move my mom's bed to the center of the room, she should have replaced the missing bed rail. And take my mom off of the air mattress used to prevent bed sores. She kept apologizing for the mistake. Hospice tells me if my mom passes away within thirty days. The medical examiner will have to rule the fall out as cause of death. My poor mom can't talk to even tell me what happened. What do I do next? Who do I report this incident to?
There are State laws, depending on your State, where bed-rails cannot be used. It was found that it was too easy for some patients to get themselves tangled up in the rails. It was high risk.
It was all trial and error when my Mom was in long-term-care. When the nurses and aides thought they had figured out how to keep Mom from climbing or falling out of bed, Mom would somehow find another way. My Mom also couldn't walk or stand, but in her own mind she thought she could. Even when she was in a Geri-recliner, Mom found a way to fall out. Eventually the Staff was able to use pillows under my Mom's knees to keep her in the chair, until the day Mom figured out how to remove those pillows.... [sigh].
The bed was lowered so if Mom fell it wasn't that far. Even fall mats were used around the bed. When my Mom passed, it was noted on the Death Certificate as Dementia, even though it was a serious fall with major head trauma, at her own home, that brought her to the ER, then to rehab, then into long-term-care, then into Hospice.