My dad forgets that he is weak and needs help getting out of his bed. He falls a few times a week in memory care and most times he’s ok. On occasion he does bump his head and EMS takes him to ER to get a CT scan. When I get the call in the middle of the night, should I go meet him at the hospital? I’ve done so in the past, only for him to be sent back an hour or two later with normal CT scan results. Just wondering if it’s ok to stay home sometimes 😩
I’m sure if something serious occurs, the hospital will notify me, at which time, of course I’d go there immediately.
I think you need to speak with the facility about not sending dad to the ER for every middle of the night fall he takes. How do THEY know he's hit his head unless a knot shows up or he's bleeding?? Not only are these trips to the ER stressful for you, but they are discombobulating and upsetting for dad, no doubt!
The other thing you may want to do is get his PCP to order a hospice evaluation for dad. I can't tell you the relief I felt when hospice accepted mom and the hospital became a thing of the past. All that stress was over with, finally. They never DID anything for her any way, except poke and prod and stab her, only to determine she was okay and send her back to MC after 6 hours of torture.
Best of luck to you.
They must have him go for check up esp if he has hit head or face area or something appears to be broken. But that will be an EMS trip to ER, scans or xrays and stitches if needed, and a quick return home. There is nothing you can do there unless it is looking like an admission. As that the hospital contact you after ER visits.
At some point a fall is probably going to lead to a fatality, like it did for my 100-yr old Aunt with advanced dementia who passed away last year after a fall in her home. She really couldn't walk unassisted but one night shimmied past the barriers and fell, breaking her hip. She didn't pass right away: she passed in rehab (we think due to a clot).
Your Dad is going to continue to fall as long as he thinks he has mobility. You have to decide if there's a trigger for you to go to the hospital (like, is there blood? Is something broken? Is he conscious? How bruised is he?)
If he has a DNR or other order to not use excessive efforts to treat him, then he will stay in the hospital until LTC or hospice is arranged.
There is a participant on this forum whose Mom fell 50+ times in MC. If my Aunt hadn't passed away, I'm sure she'd still be attempting to get out beds or chairs, and falling.
The facility needs to put his mattress on the floor and employ other strategies to prevent him from getting out of chairs, like an alarm (which my Aunt wore during the day while she was in her recliner).
Everyone is different though. It might be that it’s not necessary. It’s not possible for patients whose family members live too far away, So, it is possible.