- Caregivers cannot keep an eye on their patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Accidental falls can cause a variety of health complications.
Help keep long-term care residents and hospital patients safe with AliMed's fall monitors
Health care providers who look after patients with mobility issues face several challenges. Depending on these individuals' mental acuity, caregivers may have to help them through tasks ranging from dressing, eating, bathing, using the toilet or even just moving around.
While this is important work, the hard truth is that caregivers cannot keep an eye on their patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week. One of the biggest health hazards for patients with mobility issues is accidental falls, and although preventing these incidents is best, caregivers have to be prepared in case a patient actually experiences one.
What are the complications of an accidental fall?
There are several reasons why someone may experience an accidental fall. Aside from mobility issues, patients may have problems with their balance, or may be living with dementia.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accidental falls can cause a variety of health complications. These include traumatic brain injuries, damage to internal organs and broken bones, particularly hip fractures. Broken hips can be especially debilitating if they lead to long-term functional impairment. In fact, about 20 percent of hip fracture patients die within one year of the injury.
Prevention is always the best measure against accidental falls. For caregivers, this means assessing the environment for any risk factors, reviewing medication lists for any problematic substances, encouraging a healthy diet full of calcium and vitamin D, and promoting exercise as a way to increase strength, balance and physical function.
A quick response can be just as important
Sometimes, accidental falls are just inevitable. In these cases, a quick response is pivotal to the health of a patient. This is why the use of AliMed’s fall alarm monitors is so essential for caregivers.
Whether in a long-term care facility or a hospital, it is important for caregivers to know right away if an individual has fallen out of bed or a wheelchair. The most convenient fall monitors connect to pressure pads that can be fitted onto beds and wheelchairs, and are available in cordless, voice or other options. In the event of an accidental fall, they will alert caregivers nearby. The monitors themselves are affordable enough to be purchased for single-patient use, while durable enough for multiple-patient use.
Sources:
- http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Falls/nursing.html
- http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Falls/adulthipfx.html
- http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Falls/fallcost.html