The Fall Prevention Center of Excellence reports that among the elderly, falls account for the greatest number of accidental injuries, emergency room visits, and hospital stays due to trauma. However, even elderly people who are in assisted living communities can experience slip and fall injuries if there aren’t enough team members monitoring the assisted living community in Tarrant County, TX or if the surroundings are dangerous.
Therefore, now is a good moment to discuss with your loved one’s assisted living community what fall prevention techniques they already employ and how these could be enhanced.
Protecting Against Falls
It is not enough to simply know that a person has a higher risk of falling. Additionally, it is the responsibility of the retirement community’s personnel to develop a strategy to reduce the possibility of falls for each individual patient under their care. Most accidents have multiple causes. Different residents will require different approaches to preventing falls.
Preventing falls in patients can be greatly aided by medical professionals’ familiarity with their individual patients’ risk factors for doing so. This includes getting your loved one’s full history, not just their medical history but also their emotional and social background, which can affect their fall risk.
Recognizing Syncope and Reducing Its Incidence
Syncope, often known as fainting, is a prevalent cause of falls that is often disregarded. This is due to the fact that many people of advanced age would not recall passing out but will instead say they fell. Syncope is a prevalent problem in the elderly population and can be brought on by a number of different factors, including underlying medical disorders, adverse effects of various medications, or sudden alterations in body position (such as sitting or standing up too quickly).
Optimal Nutrition and Vitamin Supplementation
In long-term care institutions like nursing homes, residents often fall short of certain vitamins. People who don’t get enough exposure to the sun, for instance, may be at risk for low vitamin D levels. Vitamin D aids in the body’s absorption of calcium, which prevents the weakening of bones and muscles which can lead to falls. Discuss your loved one’s eating habits with their assisted living and see if any dietary supplements are appropriate for them.
Offering Appropriate Protective Gear
When it comes to preventing falls, the environment is just as important as the health and safety of the individual residents. As a result of the legal concept of premises liability, retirement communities are held liable for the safety of their establishments. On top of that, they need to equip the residents with safety equipment to reduce fall hazards.
Residents, for instance, need to be provided with slip-resistant footwear that is sized appropriately for their level of mobility. Some locals may benefit from wearing hip protection and helmets.
Exercise/Physiotherapy
Is there enough time and supervision for your loved one to exercise? Keeping as active as possible is essential for avoiding imbalance and falling. Residents of assisted living communities should be given the option to maintain an active lifestyle by providing them with access to physical therapy and appropriate exercise programs.
