Helping Your Family Member Adjust to Nursing Home Living – Tip #12

 When someone you love moves into a nursing home, their well-being and safety is of the utmost importance.  Nursing homes should implement policies and procedures to help prevent falls. This frequently includes the completion of a Fall Risk Assessment which may identify risk factors and potential causes of falls.  Many falls that occur in nursing homes are often predictable.  It can be beneficial if the assessments are completed within the first 24 hours after admission, quarterly, with the occurrence of any significant change in condition and following any actual incident, such as a fall.  The nursing home staff will then be able to re-evaluate the situation, create new interventions, as needed, to help prevent accidents and injuries and to help maintain a safe environment for your loved one. Examples of the Fall Risk Assessment tool may even be Googled on line.  A family member or friend, if present during the assessment, may be able to provide the staff with valuable information, especially if the resident is unable to answer questions and the family member is familiar with potential risk factors.  Communication with your loved one and the staff is the key to help prevent, identify and solve any potential problems that may develop and promote a positive adjustment to the nursing home.