Falls in nursing homes are unfortunately very common, with about half of all residents experiencing a fall each year. Since they often lead to serious and even life-threatening injuries, homes are responsible for taking proactive steps to prevent falls and adjust to each resident’s individual risks.
Nursing homes that provide quality care use a variety of tactics to prevent falls, while poorly-run facilities tend to leave their residents vulnerable to repeated injury.
Table of Contents:
- What Should Nursing Homes Do to Prevent Residents From Falling?
- Perform Thorough Risk Assessments
- Maintain Adequate Staffing Levels
- Institute Proper Staff Protocols, Training, and Supervision
- Make Environmental and Facility Safety Modifications
- Keep Residents Active and Provide Mobility Aids
- Leverage Technology for Monitoring Residents
- What Should You Do if Your Loved One Keeps Falling?
- Start Your Journey to Justice. Call Our Team Today
What Should Nursing Homes Do to Prevent Residents From Falling?
Perform Thorough Risk Assessments
Knowing the factors most likely to cause a fall is the first step in preventing one. When residents are admitted to a nursing home, the staff should assess their personal needs and identify any medical problems that could increase their risk of falls, such as reduced mobility, unsteady gait, balance issues, mental impairment, and or medications that cause drowsiness.
Each nursing home resident must have an individual care plan designed to meet their unique needs and prevent their health from deteriorating. These plans should include any measures necessary to avoid falls, such as whether the resident needs assistance with transfers or requires heightened supervision.
If a resident falls, staff should reassess the resident’s needs and adjust the care plan to prevent a similar situation in the future.
“When I get a phone call from somebody whose loved one had a fall in a nursing home, I go through a litany of questions. I want to know–was the person assessed while they were on the floor before you got them up and put them back in bed or back in the wheelchair? They [the nursing home] have to do an assessment after every fall.”
Maintain Adequate Staffing Levels
Chronically understaffed nursing homes tend to have more resident falls than properly staffed facilities. Meanwhile, poorly staffed facilities are also more likely to be cited for care deficiencies.
Hiring and scheduling an adequate level of workers to properly care for residents is essential to preventing falls, allowing staff to more easily follow care plans and assist with mobility without cutting corners or overlooking details.
Institute Proper Staff Protocols, Training, and Supervision
Ensuring that staff know how to quickly and safely assist residents with mobility and everyday tasks reduces residents’ risk of falling. When staff know how to respond to an emergency, they can also help injured residents get the care they need more quickly.
Make Environmental and Facility Safety Modifications
Vision impairment can increase the risk of falls for many nursing home residents, especially in low-light environments with tripping hazards. Living areas should remain well-lit, with light sources installed in common areas at night, and hallways should be free of spills, debris, or objects.
Many residents also need safety modifications to their living areas, such as floor mats, bed rails, handrails, and call buttons, to prevent falls.
Keep Residents Active and Provide Mobility Aids
Residents can develop a fear of falling after suffering an injury, causing them to limit their physical activity, which ironically raises their risk of falling again. Staff should keep vulnerable residents engaged in activities and moving throughout the day to maintain their strength while avoiding overexertion.
Those struggling with mobility may also need canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and other assistive devices to get around safely. To prevent falls, staff must ensure residents have easy access to their mobility aids and remain readily available to help them get up when needed, either by maintaining a schedule or providing call buttons.
Leverage Technology for Monitoring Residents
Some homes are implementing new technology to help staff respond more quickly to residents who need mobility assistance or have fallen. Motion sensors in beds and chairs, wearable alert devices, and other equipment can help prevent falls and ensure residents get prompt care when they’re hurt.
-
Did You Know?
Each year, falls among older adults lead to approximately three million emergency department visits and one million hospitalizations. A senior who falls once is twice as likely to fall again.
What Should You Do if Your Loved One Keeps Falling?
Even when staff do their best to manage risks and prevent incidents, nursing home residents sometimes fall and get hurt. However, repeated fall injuries can be a red flag for neglect, indicating that a nursing home isn’t doing enough to meet a resident’s needs even after they’ve suffered actual harm.
If your loved one continues to suffer fall injuries and you aren’t satisfied with the nursing home’s explanations, you may be eligible to pursue a legal claim. Steps you can take to protect your loved one include:
- Gather evidence: Save any communications and written records you have about your loved one’s falls, and take notes about your own observations to create a timeline.
- Report your concerns: If you believe your loved one is in immediate danger, call 911 as soon as possible. To report abuse or neglect currently happening in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or adult day program, call the California Department of Aging’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman CRISISline at 1-800-231-4024. To file a complaint against a nursing home, contact the Department of Public Health (800) 554-0354.
- Speak with a lawyer: An experienced nursing home abuse attorney can sit down with you and explain your family’s legal options through a free consultation. If you have a valid legal claim, your lawyer can help you take action against the nursing home to get the compensation you deserve.
Start Your Journey to Justice. Call Our Team Today
At Lanzone Morgan, LLP, we’re passionate advocates for the safety, dignity, and rights of nursing home residents. Our team has more than 75 years of combined experience and focuses solely on elder abuse and neglect. We’ve recovered over $250 million in compensation for families like yours across California.
If your loved one has been injured due to nursing home neglect, such as the repeated failure to prevent falls, let us pursue the accountability your family deserves. Call 888-887-9777 or contact us online today for a free consultation.