Here's a Portland woman fighting to make a difference. The issue: safety standards for bed rails. The issue is caught up in bureaucratic buck-passing and anti-regulatory rhetoric. But meanwhile old folks are dying in accidents. For Pete's sake, if they can regulate cribs, the same should be true of hospital beds and nursing home beds.
Comments (3)
I just could not bring myself to comment on the NYT page.
My Sister and I have been going thru the same mobility risk/benefit issues with our aging parents for the past 10 years. Both Mom & Dad (90 +) lost mobility (gradually at first) & have increased risks of falling with varying results. EVERY solution has their own trade offs.
We were counseled AGAINST the bed mounted GRAB rail at first. But it was INITIALLY a great benefit to Dad. Coupled with motion sensor lighting, it enabled him to safely get UP out of bed and stabilize himself before walking with his cane to the bathroom (multiple times) in the middle of the night.
After the move to assisted living, these midnight toilet trips became more risky. And one reason is was his increased reliance on the wheelchair & resulting lack of leg muscle tone.
Of course had I not slept over within eyesight, I would have had no idea how his routine had changed. The bed rail/grab bar slowly became a mixed blessing... and later enabled him to exit the bed on his own, which led to instability & slow motion falls and sliding to the floor from his mattress.
We discussed at great length the alternatives and WE finally agreed with the excellent staff. It was now time to remove the rail & force pillow Dad in place with diapers and 2 hour bed checks. An extra charge, but no more falls. This too, has some health risks.
Dad is in full dementia now and Mom died after multiple falls, broken hip & broken pelvis. could those falls have been prevented? Maybe... at some other risk.
We are blessed with an excellent Assisted Living Facility and our new extended family there.
Doctors and ER nurses may have their opinions, but if anyone wants the pro/cons of ANY mobility aid for the elderly ... the BEST person to ask is the resident aid (and lowest paid) in any facility.
And THAT would require frequent visits... sometimes overnight.
My mom was in assisted living for 5 years.
When I think about older folks, and maybe eventually me,getting caught in those rails and being injured, rendered immobile, or suffocating it is just awful! These situations should be preventable.
The fact that many people seem to not be concerned is the most disturbing issue for me.
My guess is throw rugs and extension cords have accelerated 20x more elderly tripping deaths than any bed rails.
All we can do is try to balance the risks.
Dad's bed rail made him a little more independent for three or four extra years. Now, a bed sore might kill him.
Mom tripped on a cherished old Japanese fishing float she had in front of the fireplace. It could have just as easily been a sock. But by then, her bones were close to the strength of Styrofoam.
It would be far more difficult to regulate other trip hazards like rugs, electrical cords and fishing floats. So we might as well regulate those nasty bed rails.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (3)
I just could not bring myself to comment on the NYT page.
My Sister and I have been going thru the same mobility risk/benefit issues with our aging parents for the past 10 years. Both Mom & Dad (90 +) lost mobility (gradually at first) & have increased risks of falling with varying results. EVERY solution has their own trade offs.
We were counseled AGAINST the bed mounted GRAB rail at first. But it was INITIALLY a great benefit to Dad. Coupled with motion sensor lighting, it enabled him to safely get UP out of bed and stabilize himself before walking with his cane to the bathroom (multiple times) in the middle of the night.
After the move to assisted living, these midnight toilet trips became more risky. And one reason is was his increased reliance on the wheelchair & resulting lack of leg muscle tone.
Of course had I not slept over within eyesight, I would have had no idea how his routine had changed. The bed rail/grab bar slowly became a mixed blessing... and later enabled him to exit the bed on his own, which led to instability & slow motion falls and sliding to the floor from his mattress.
We discussed at great length the alternatives and WE finally agreed with the excellent staff. It was now time to remove the rail & force pillow Dad in place with diapers and 2 hour bed checks. An extra charge, but no more falls. This too, has some health risks.
Dad is in full dementia now and Mom died after multiple falls, broken hip & broken pelvis. could those falls have been prevented? Maybe... at some other risk.
We are blessed with an excellent Assisted Living Facility and our new extended family there.
Doctors and ER nurses may have their opinions, but if anyone wants the pro/cons of ANY mobility aid for the elderly ... the BEST person to ask is the resident aid (and lowest paid) in any facility.
And THAT would require frequent visits... sometimes overnight.
Posted by ltjd | November 26, 2012 1:50 PM
My mom was in assisted living for 5 years.
When I think about older folks, and maybe eventually me,getting caught in those rails and being injured, rendered immobile, or suffocating it is just awful! These situations should be preventable.
The fact that many people seem to not be concerned is the most disturbing issue for me.
Posted by Portland Native | November 26, 2012 5:49 PM
Native:
My guess is throw rugs and extension cords have accelerated 20x more elderly tripping deaths than any bed rails.
All we can do is try to balance the risks.
Dad's bed rail made him a little more independent for three or four extra years. Now, a bed sore might kill him.
Mom tripped on a cherished old Japanese fishing float she had in front of the fireplace. It could have just as easily been a sock. But by then, her bones were close to the strength of Styrofoam.
It would be far more difficult to regulate other trip hazards like rugs, electrical cords and fishing floats. So we might as well regulate those nasty bed rails.
Posted by ltjd | November 26, 2012 6:31 PM