When your parent’s level of mobility decreases or when living alone begins to create risks for your mom or dad, you may have to make the difficult decision to move him or her into a Pennsylvania nursing home. You may do so with the belief that your parent is going to get more care and mobility help in a nursing home than you, yourself, would be able to provide. Yet, many American nursing homes fail to offer the mobility help residents need.
According to Industrial Safety & Hygiene News, falls are a frequent result of nursing home residents not receiving mobility help when they need it. How often are residents falling in American nursing homes?
Nursing home fall statistics
Current estimates show that the average U.S. nursing home with 100 beds for residents reports between 100 and 200 falls every year. The actual number of residents falling in each care community may be much higher than this, though. This is due to the fact that nursing home staff members never report many such falls.
The understaffing issue
Research also shows that your loved one is much more likely to fall when living in a nursing home than he or she would be living with you or at home alone. The chances of your loved one falling and suffering an injury are also higher when the nursing home he or she lives in does not have enough staff members around to help residents.
Many nursing home falls are preventable. Nursing homes should do their part to protect residents by maintaining adequate staffing numbers, eliminating environmental hazards and ensuring all residents receive prompt motility assistance when the need arises.