Help! Mom's Had A Fall!

 In the medical field, especially at the front desk of a doctor's office, this statement is uttered daily.  A caregiver of an aging loved one has stopped by to check on their charge and found that they have fallen. Sometimes the falls occur at least weekly.  They may even progress to daily and even several times each day.  What can the caregiver do? Plenty...

Let's first make sure that your loved one is okay.  Do they have any pain, other than general soreness? If you are ever in doubt, call 911 and  let the paramedics check them out or decide to transport them to the hospital.  If you, or the emergency responders, decide it's just some bumps and bruises, help your loved one get comfortable and read on.

One of the first things to look at when your loved one is experiencing falls is their medications.  Too much, too little, interactions with other drugs can all cause dizziness and potential falls.  Your pharmacist can be a big help to preventing adverse reactions and side effects with medications.  Ask the pharmacist why your loved one is taking each medication and what side effects it may cause.  Getting all prescriptions from one pharmacy is important too so that the pharmacist has the full picture.


Looking around the home for safety issues is our next step.  Are their rugs that could cause a tripping hazard?  Power cords in walkways? Do you have safety bars in the bathroom, including in the tub or shower? Are their hand rails wherever their are stairs? Taking measures to provide the safest environment possible can greatly reduce falls for your loved one.

What if you have done all of these things and your loved one is still experiencing falls? Many times, general aging, disease processes and illness can weaken your loved one.  The strength they used to have in their leg and core muscles has been greatly reduced and falls will naturally occur.  This is a great opportunity to have a Home Health agency work with your loved one through physical therapy to help restrengthen them.  The therapist will guide your loved one through the exercise and then teach them, and family members how to continue the strengthening on their own.  Several visits will ensure that your loved one improves and understands the techniques used to keep them strong.

The goal of Home Health is to bring the patient back to their prior level of functioning before they had their fall or illness.  Once that goal is met services will end.  This is often met with unhappiness on the part of the patient because they realize how much it has helped and sometimes, their level of functioning, even after therapy, has diminished and they still require help.  Please know that those who work for the Home Health agency want to keep serving you as long as you qualify for services.  This is how they get paid.  They don't want to put you in a position where you will potentially get hurt again BUT, if the documentation of their visits cannot show continued improvement they must discontinue services.  I have had some clients feel as if they were "kicked off" of services when they still needed them.  I always assure them that this is not the case but that the agency must follow the federal regulations and guidelines of service.

One of the most important things to know about Home Health is that it is designed to serve those who are homebound, meaning that it is difficult to get them out of the house to an appointment.  Are they unable to drive themselves? They are homebound.

One fall for your loved one can qualify them for a Home Health evaluation.  Call our office at 801-225-3377 and our friendly office staff will visit with you and gather some information.  This will include your loved one's primary care physician's name, insurance info and date of birth.  If your loved one has NOT had a face to face visit with their doctor in the last thirty days, they will need to make an appointment to be seen and at that time the request can be made for Home Health services. If they have been to the doctor in the last 30 days, a simple call to the doctor's office can be made with a request for Home Health services.  If the doctor agrees that it could be helpful, he will give an order for an evaluation.  PLEASE know that you always have a choice of which company you would like to serve your loved one.  Because a doctor's office is so busy, they may give the order to the next agency on the list.  If there is a company that you would like to serve, you must vocalize it..."I want FREEDOM!"  

Freedom Home Health and Hospice is locally owned and operated.  We are your neighbors, friends and associates and we would love to serve you.  We look forward to hearing from you! 801-225-3377