I agree. We have 4 restraints in house and have assessments in place, least restrictive devices, etc. and have not had any problems on survey. The problem comes in when the resident has not been adequately assessed for use of the restraint and not using the least restrictive device. Surveyors, for the most part, love merrywalkers because it keeps the resident's ambulatory skills intact but promotes safety at the same time.
Brenda W. Chance, RN, RAC-C MDS Coordinator CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. -----Original Message----- From: Carol O'Brien [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 10:34 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Care plan issue - Falls How is this actual harm? >From: "Kathy Archibald" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: Care plan issue - Falls >Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2003 07:27:48 -0700 > >I would be careful restraining her by fixing merry walker so she can't open >it. we received an actual harm citation last year for a resident who >continued to fall and we put him in a merry walker and he couldn't get out >of it by himself. >Kathy Archibald RN Living Center Supervisor >FAX 1-208-547-2790 >Voice 1-208-547-2771 >email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Michelle Witges > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2003 7:59 AM > Subject: Re: Care plan issue - Falls > > > I want her to ambulate but to do it safely. As long as she is the >Merry-Walker she does fine. When she gets out of the Merry-Walker she >falls. She is able to open the Merry-Walker without difficulty she is even >able to remove her personal alarm so that staff do not know that she is out >of the Merry-Walker. She works with restorative, frequent toileting, close >observation, w/c with lap buddy. We have not tried carpeting the bathroom >but she uses other residents bathrooms as well. Another thing we have not >tried is fixing the Merry-Walker so she cannot open it. How would you go >about doing this? We had maintenance checking into this but they have not >figured anything out yet. Her family is getting extremely upset with us >because of her frequent falls not to mention the fact that we are upset >also as we are out of idea's. > Michelle > ----- Original Message ----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 7:16 PM > Subject: Re: Care plan issue - Falls > > > In a message dated 12/3/2003 1:50:20 PM Pacific Standard Time, >[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > I have a lady who has had a CVA with paralysis on right side. She >is in a Merry Walker as she is very unsteady on her feet. She also has a >personal alarm on. She is able to get around safely in the Merry Walker >and the personal alarm is to notify if she tries to get up without assist. > Why is she in a Merri-walker if you don't want her to ambulate? _________________________________________________________________ Shop online for kids' toys by age group, price range, and toy category at MSN Shopping. No waiting for a clerk to help you! http://shopping.msn.com /---------------------------------------------------------- The Case Mix Discussion Group is a free service of the American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordinators "Committed to the Assessment Professional" Be sure to visit the AANAC website. Accurate answers to your questions posted to NAC News and FAQs. For more info visit us at http://www.aanac.org -----------------------------------------------------------/ /---------------------------------------------------------- The Case Mix Discussion Group is a free service of the American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordinators "Committed to the Assessment Professional" Be sure to visit the AANAC website. Accurate answers to your questions posted to NAC News and FAQs. For more info visit us at http://www.aanac.org -----------------------------------------------------------/
