What is the best fall prevention help device?

There is no such thing as a fall prevention device. The devices for after there is a fall. We had a fall alert device for my father. He kept thinking he was able to get up and walk. He had balance problems because of strokes and dementia. I liked having the alert system. His alert system had a fall detection feature which was very useful. Most of his falls were at night when we were asleep. We ended up buying a portable alarm which we hooked up to his bed at night and on his wheelchair during the day. We also had a video monitor in his room. Once they start falling it is hard to keep them from falling. 

Best Fall prevention . . An individual or a whole family willing to provide 24 x 7 care for a loved one with a family member by their side 24 x 7. That is what I do for my Mother. She walks around her apartment with or sometimes without a walker at 100 years old. We go for walks a time or two each week with my holding her hand in addition to her walking around in her apartment. It is approx 42 yards round trip from her bed to the toilet. I learned from friends with parents in Senior Facilities that falls can be the start of LO's dying. We have different gadgets, a bed alarm and a pendant but what has kept Mother safe from any falls since we moved to a heavenly facility 7 months ago is that I am full time and my son or his wife give me breaks are right by her side 24 x 7. We have worked this out with the facility. We have a loving family life including Mother's kitty.

Of course, a pendant is not a fall prevention device. That is for AFTER the fall when help needs to be summoned. As for prevention , perhaps an OT/PT evaluation of her environment and her balance could help. Try local VNA, but would need MD order to have the service.

Interesting discussions. While I'm not a techie, I think the pendant has a stabilizing mechanism, and when tilted or position is changed, it alarms and triggers a response.

I have a vague recollection of returning home after a VA trip and seeing the monitoring service calls on my caller ID. The pendant activated sometime during that visit, but I'm not sure when. And there was no fall that had occurred.

I've been present when calls have been activated and the monitoring service has called just when a seated change of position has occurred. It's also activated when a "sliding" fall has happened.

These devices have changed over the years. I used Phillips for my Mom. It had a motion sensor built in so if you fall the button would hit the floor. If you can't hit the button, an operator will call. If they get no response, 911 will be called. This cost about $50 a month. Some companies now have where u can be outside or away from home and can use the button. Your doctors office should have info n these companies. Maybe ur local Visiting Nurse Assoc. Even ur Health Insurance.

No "device" will prevent falls. The person must be committed to walking carefully, and paying attention to uneven surfaces, etc when they DO walk.

PT is great, although not many elders are compliant in continuing the exercises and staying mobile. I know mother, once the PT left, was back to stage one, falling and sliding to the ground at the slightest provocation. Her choice.

The "fall alert pendant" is GREAT in THEORY. But the person has to wear it. And the people who are contacted once it "goes off" have to ANSWER THEIR PHONES. Mother wears one, sort of, sometimes. It goes through the wash on the reg. It does NOT go off, even in the dryer. Weird. If your loved one is a "slider" or "slumper" it also will not go off, it seems to take a really fairly hard hit to work.

Also, most of them come with a button that can be pushed--but again, the elder has to KNOW what they are doing. Mother isn't strong enough in her hands to push the button. I think we're almost at the apartment-wide monitoring system so brother can see what she's doing 24/7. He hates the idea, as it really destroys any semblance of independence, but she chose to stay in her apt and wants to be independent.

She hasn't fallen in a few months, we get complacent. Or she falls and I don't know about it.

Garden Artist
I found a company who offers nationwide GPS service, no contracts, $30. Month. I travel a lot so this is great. Most of them only offer service in the home.

I actually just got the button necklace for my mom. The company told me that they do have automatic fall alerts pendants that do alert when they fall. However, if your parent is a "sinker" or one who just kind of slides down, the device cannot detect those falls near as well. They were honest and that's what my mom does so we just went with the necklace. Now if they only remember to push the button lol!

How is the device a "fall preventive?"
For "fall prevention" - you need to do Physical Therapy. You need to see how the person is walking - barefoot - so you can see if he/she is raising the toes on either foot while walking. I am telling you this from experience. I noticed earlier in the year that my DH raises his toes on his right foot whenever he walks. PT explained that it is from the fear of falling forward - it is done to balance. The problem is, when the person raises his toes, he pretty much IS going to fall if trying to backup or turn around, and they fall backwards because they cannot balance from this position. We are still working on this but Ray has not fallen now in a couple of months.

You're speaking of a device for a person who has fallen and can't get up? I know nothing of these - I am Ray's "help device" and I pick him up.

However, if your patient has a cell phone, pretty much they all have GPS I've been told. Go to the Alzheimer's website and see what might be available for you and covered by Medicare.

Cetude, not putting in a feeding tube isn't letting them starve to death. What happens is the person just gets sleepy. It's a gentle way to go. They aren't feeling hunger anyway. All the feeding tube does is prolong the death. Now, having said that, if she's still able to talk, or know you are in the room, you might want to have one put in. It's a hard decision but not one that should be made because you think they are hungry. Make sure they still give her ice and or fluids because that will keep her more comfortable. Been there, had to do that so I know it's not easy. I had to do this for my mother-in-law, who I loved like she was my mom. We had the first one put in but by the time she needed another one it was time to let her go. I'm so glad my own mom had that discussion with me before she got to that point so I knew what to do without all the guilt that can go with it.

End stage Alzheimer's they are not capable of calling for help--when they fall, they fall and can't get up until someone sees them and helps them. Most falls do happen near the bed. I have a fall mat which is very helpful and I have the bed near the bedroom wall so she can grab the wall. Of course the worse off the Alzheimer's the more likely they will fall. You can get fall alarms for the bed but they can go off and they are already on the floor. They can also produce many false alarms so it disrupts their sleep. They even fall with you in the room with them.  I walk my mom daily (with her walker) which helps and she can do 1/4th a mile. but falls still happen no matter what I do because she's very end stage. When she completely loses her appetite I will have to decide about a feeding tube which she will pull out -- but I also can't just stand by and watch her starve. Fortunately it's not that bad--yet--but her appetite has gone down.

I should add that health care and private duty agencies are trying to sell services for fall detection as part of their own care package. Do your own research first; you (nor I ) have any idea whether or not they push a specific company b/c they're getting referral fees.

I suppose the day will come when a health care agency diversifies and plugs a whole slew of elder care products - depend type garments, walkers, rollators, grabbers and who knows what.

Not to be nit picky, but I think a device really can't be used for fall prevention, as the factors that contribute to falls are mobility, stability, age, condition, balance, and more.

A device can be used though to get help after a fall occurs, or (and I'm not being sarcastic) help as someone is falling if the device can be activated that quickly. My experience is that falls occur so quickly I'm lucky if I can get a grip around someone's waist (w/o using a gait belt all the time) before someone's down on the floor.

So I wanted a company that provided immediate response, even though the ads suggest they all do.

The research I did before making a selection including contacting several different local and some national companies providing pendants and fall support. A few were eliminated if I didn't get return calls the same day. If they're that slow, I don't want to rely on them.

The one I selected was honest about the limitations of GPS pendants at the time. Others skipped over the GPS issue with blithe pats on the hand reassurances that they worked. (I should hope so!). Those didn't get the contract either. The honest company advised that at that time, a GPS device in a medic alert pendant wasn't that reliable but it was testing different ones to find a better option.

That company also provides security services and has done so for years. It's local to the area, and over a period of years has proven to be the right selection.

I'm P'M' ing you the name, as advertising isn't allowed here and my endorsement of them could constitute advertising.

The company does cover a few other states. If I had to find a new company, I'd go with a company that already provides security rather than one that focuses on pendants as its primary line of devices and services.

I also rejected some of those that advertise in senior magazines. Most of them wouldn't even discuss their services without getting my contact information and sending literature. I didn't want literature - I wanted answers to MY questions.

I have never regretted my choice. I've even asked them to call when I couldn't reach my father by phone but knew that he'd hear the pendant which is a wireless device.

Dear Mary,

That is a hard one. I would suggest checking with a nursing home and see what they recommend. I sort of think they all work about the same and will do the job.