I look at everything that happened during the near-fall and change as many factors as are safe to change at once. Observe the walking path, lighting, what footwear is used, and the time of day. See what non-medical home care offers regarding steadier routines and PALS (Person Assisting Less Supervision). Caregivers are trained to work within the boundaries of your loved one's independence.
Near falls do not mean your loved one needs supervision around the clock, but it is a sign that things need to be looked at. It could mean rushing to use the bathroom. It could be poor lighting, fatigue, and trying to do too many things.
What does parent caregiver research on home care in Central, LA, actually look like? The right question is not "How do we prevent this from happening again?" No one can promise that will not happen again. The right question is, "What changes can be made within the daily routine in order to help with the daily movement?"
What Should You Review After a Near-Fall at Home?
The best place to start is with the details leading up to the near fall. They will tell you more than a lump sum safety check at home.
Over 4 areas of concern, analyze the same route as your parent:
Walkways: Are there obstructions with shoes, cords, tables, rugs, pet items, or bags on the walkway? Is the furniture arranged as though it is causing a step over?
Lighting: Was the area dim? Was your parent transitioning from a bright room to a darker hallway? Are the routes to and from the bathroom visible at night?
Footwear: Were they loose slippers or socks on a smooth surface or shoes that are tricky to manage?
Daily Timing: Did the near fall occur first thing in the morning, late at night, after a long outing, with them rushing, or while they were trying to move or walk with haste?
Timing is important because how someone moves throughout their day at 8 am can be much slower than how they move at 8 pm.
I would also suggest looking to see if your parent is hurrying because something in their routine is broken. It could be that they are trying to carry their breakfast and a drink at the same time. It could be that they have been waiting too long to go to the bathroom. It could be that it now takes longer to get dressed than it used to, but the rest of their morning routine remains the same.
These are practical issues. They are also types of issues that can sometimes be remedied without a huge time commitment.
Families can learn more about the different home care services available through our Baton Rouge area office.
How does Standby Support and Safer Pacing work for Care Pros?
Care Pros can help areas of the day for your parents where they may need another person present, greater time allotted, or a more structured routine.
This may look like a Care Pro assisting with getting your parent ready in the morning, giving them supportive guidance as they move about the home, meal preparation, placing items of greater use in more convenient locations on the home, or providing guidance for the routine tasks documented in the Care Plan.
The aim is not to create someone who needs assistance dependent on something they do not want.
Your parent can continue to prepare a portion of their breakfast, dress themselves, make decisions for their day, and perform a multitude of actions independently. Care Pros can assist in alleviating the more difficult or tiring tasks of the day.
I believe pacing is just as important as the tasks.
Someone trying to get dressed, prepare coffee, feed their pet, gather their meds, and take a call, in a short period of time, is not necessarily unable to perform those duties. More often than not, they need a routine that allows greater time and less competing tasks.
Non-medical support can provide families with extra perspective and regional observations on routine activities. A Care Pro may notice a certain activity of the day that your parent does that consistently takes longer to complete or seems to tire your parent. These observations can be presented for the following Care Consultation.
Our elder care resources in the Baton Rouge area provide insights on daily assistance and support for families.
When Should I Be Worried About A Fall Concern?
There are many situations where home care is very helpful and supportive for a family. However, there are many things home care can't replace, like medical care, physical therapy, skilled nursing care, or emergency care.
Examples include your parent actually falling, a new injury, significant pain or discomfort, head injury, loss of consciousness, significant confusion, weakness, or other serious concerns. In all of those situations, you should call 911 and seek emergency care.
New dizziness, repeated balance concerns, weakness, other new symptoms, or changes that may have medical reasons also may mean that a clinician should do an evaluation.
There are also times when a physical or occupational therapist may be need to evaluate strength, balance, and how a person moves about the home and with assistive devices.
Our care pros only provide non-medical care and support. They do not evaluate, treat, or replace therapy. Non-medical care and clinical care can be safely used together. A therapist may provide clinical care to assist with mobility and rehabilitation, while our care pros can help the client keep up with a daily routine at home.
It is important to understand the differences between the clinical and non-medical care. You can also learn more about the Baton Rouge Home Instead office here.
How should you document templates before participating in a Care Consultation?
You don't need to get too complicated. A couple of quick notes will help expedite the upcoming conversation.
For one or two weeks, capture the following:
The time of day for the unsteady event
What your parent was doing leading up to the event
Where the event occurred
Were they tired, rushing, carrying, getting up, sitting down?
Have the same events happened before?
Difficult events
What parent says they need help with (if any)
Include days with ease for parent as well.
If your parent walks with ease most mornings, but has difficulty walking in the evenings, that information is helpful and so is the opposite. In addition, if there are only difficult events that show up when they are answering the door, that is also relevant.
During a Care Consultation I would much rather discuss the real-life observable patterns that you noticed over the scariest moments.
When creating a Care Plan, it is very important for the care plan to closely mirror the routine of the family member, their preference, and the level of independence they have.
If you are in Central and want to get an idea of what local support could be, our Baton Rouge service-area page is a good place to start.
Central LA Home Care Near-Fall FAQs
Does my parent needing home care occur after just one near-fall?
Normally, one fall is not a big reason to commit to home care right away. It can help contextualize a situation, provide you a sense of what’s happened before, if there are similar instances that occur and if parts of the daily routine have become more difficult. A few families even say all that is needed are small changes. Others make the decision to take advantage of a few hours of the support that is available.
Will my parent's Care Pro avoid my parent from falling?
No one can avoid a fall. A Care Pro can provide support and help avoid rushing. They can assist with daily tasks and even encourage a more steady routine. While this may help other parts of the day be less difficult, non-medical home care must always be understood as a fall prevention measure.
What can my parent's Care Pro assist with after a near-fall?
Depending on the Care Plan, a Care Pro can assist with daily personal care tasks, meals, other minimal chores, and other tasks of daily living. They provide community and can even supplement in more time intensive tasks like upkeep. All of the assistance can be driven by the needs of your parent and left to your discretion of what you would like them to be more independent in.
What is non-medical home care unable to do?
Non-medical home care will never be a substitution for a doctor, nurse, physical therapist, occupational therapist, or an emergency medical service. Care Pros will not be able to diagnose someone’s imbalance or figure out the medical cause of why a patient almost fell. If you are dealing with a new medical symptom, injury, or rehabilitation, then the proper clinician has to get involved.
Do we have to remove every rug and redo the entire house?
Likely not. You have to attack this from the area the fall nearly happened and see what was going on around that area. A complete redo is most likely not needed and your parent should be included in the decisions around these changes for their home.
What if my parent doesn’t want a lot of help?
Meet your parent at the part of their day they are most willing to have a change. Your parent may be willing to have help with meal preparation, laundry, and errands and may need help with their morning routine, and may be willing to have other support to simpler acts, and may be willing to maintain other activities by themselves. A Care Plan does not have to mean losing complete control. It should be based on the support the person actually wants and needs.
When should our family consider a Care Consultation?
A Care Consultation is necessary to be scheduled when there is a pattern of concern. It is not necessary when there are isolated concerns. When your parent claims certain routines are starting to be harder, then it is necessary. Bring examples to this meeting. It is also helpful for you to know when your parent has unsteady moments and what they were doing and what type of help would be useful.
If you are considering a change to your daily routine in Central with a near-fall, contact our Baton Rouge-area Care Consultation team. We will discuss the needs of your situation and whether a Care Pro would assist with what your parent needs to do independently. We are also able to evaluate the need for non-medical home care.
Alternative Narration
A Care Consultation involves a call with and/or a home visit from our Baton Rouge-area team. The team will assess your parent’s needs and your preferred lifestyle changes to provide you with possible solutions. Solutions may vary from integrating a Care Pro to providing non-medical home care.
About the Author
Matt Cohn has spent more than 25 years helping older adults and their families find the right support to remain safe and comfortable at home. He owns Home Instead locations serving Baton Rouge and Hammond in Louisiana, as well as Gainesville, Lawrenceville, and Dunwoody in Georgia.
