Hospitals, Aides, and fall prevention

I have been involved with a number of very elderly stroke-disabled patients and have found that the hospitals are not set up to deal with them - even those with geriatric wards. The problem is strange surroundings, a very elderly stroke-disabled patient, and a high bed and a hard floor. When agitated, especially at night, they may climb over the bed rails and fall to the floor and injure themselves.  Because of hospital policy they generally will not use restraints, and if they do they will use wrist restraints which cause the patient to become extremely upset. The answer is to have someone in the room with them, especially at night. This person does not have to be a nurse or have any certification other than common sense. Insurance does not always cover such a situation. Ideally a relative should stay, but this is not always possible. What I have done is to hire female college students to sit overnight in the room. I set this up ahead of time and have several names to call on a contingency basis. I got the names by placing an ad on a card on the bulleten board of a nursing school at the beginning of a semester. If there is a problem they can use the call bell to summon a nurse. In the United States, if you are paying cash, this can be done very inexpensively. If you go through the hospital you will most likely find yourself billed for the services of either a registered nurse.