We had a neighbor who would fall, call EMS and refuse to go to the emergency department. I heard that EMS said they couldn’t keep doing that.
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But what’s the other option? There must be liability concerns if they refuse to answer an emergency call? I get how frustrating these calls are but I don’t see how they can say they won’t respond anymore. What if he turns out to be having a stroke this time?
Our first responders will keep coming, but at some point, you are fined if they consider it a “ false alarm“.
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I think it was that EMS couldn’t keep having him refuse to be transported to the ED. He was a regular and he was a drinker.
It’s a small rural township with a volunteer fire department. They maybe didn’t have the authority to refuse to come but it might have been an empty threat.
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My friends were told fire fighter would have to call adult protective services if they kept getting calls for falls.
My friend came down, bought a hoyer lift and tried to teach everyone how to use it. They ended up moving the patient to a family care home because the petite caregivers were too afraid to try to lift him. He was over 6’ and dead weight when he fell. The family care home was very nurturing and I believe he was content there.
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In my town the paid EMS - which is part of the fire department - will force the person to go to the ER if they have to pick them up. I know this because there was a woman in my building who was definitely abusing 911, calling for non emergencies. The fireman were pretty upset with her and forced her to go to the ER when they came.
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My uncle kept falling, and the small town paramedics told them that they needed to find a way to get him off the floor other than calling for them. My aunt ended up putting out a plea on Facebook for a Hoyer lift … she was able to either borrow or rent one for her to use until they were able to figure out why my uncle was falling (he ended up with surgery & PT).
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The first night in Jan we moved my parents into my house, my dad leaned too far and fell out of his chair. My husband couldn’t lift him, dragged his recliner over and with my husband’s help he dragged himself onto the chair We ordered a Vocic electric chair lift from Amazon, but luckily haven’t needed it again.
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When my father was in his assisted living they had a hoya lift in his room so they could move him easily.
Last year my father fell while out walking at a local school parking lot. Luckily his wife had the number of some kind of emergency help service - they were able to pick him up (he was uninjured) and get him into his car.
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I had the opportunity last week to go to a conference about eldercare and as part of that did one of those “dementia room” experiences. The docents put you into adaptive gear and you are put into a room to have a sense of how dementia patients experience the world. This is not a gimmick; it’s used mostly for training for AL and memory care facilities.
You wear spikey insoles, goggles, etc. and a headset that broadcasts multiple voices simultaneously and intermittent blasts of a fire alarm or loud door slamming. My person opens the door, walks me in, and I realize she is reading me directions of what to do – and that’s the takeaway, for me.
I had no idea what I was supposed to do, because I didn’t understand or hear all the directions. I recognized all the things on the table, even in the dark (they told us later that almost nobody ever just turns on the light!) but just guessed what to do. I didn’t know how long I was supposed to take, or whether they were coming back. As a type A organizer, I was a little panicky about doing it “right” and the alarm blasts were not helping. I thought, well, if this is what Mom feels like every time the phone rings and she can’t answer it, no wonder she cries.
We are off tomorrow for a few days with her. Preferred reports she is having a very good week, we don’t really know why.
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My dad choked badly on a pill this weekend. It’s my understanding that it caused him to aspirate and that led to an eventual diagnosis of pneumonia. His caregiver took him to the ER Saturday evening - he didn’t protest, which isn’t a good sign.
He was doing better yesterday, but overnight exhibited respiratory distress and also had a high CO2 level, so they’ve moved him to the ICU. His advocate says it’s not life-threatening.
This is the first time he’s been hospitalized since February, 2025 and since my sister moved out of state. Her two kids are still in Austin, so they and their spouses are visiting him. He will have a caregiver with him 24/7 in the hospital, and the advocate is keeping us posted.
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I hope your dad has a speedy recovery!
I hope you don’t mind this unsolicited piece of advice but I would ask for a swallow study before he’s discharged. The MD may be able to change his medications to something easier to swallow if there is a problem and this wasn’t a one off.
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Thanks for the advice, I will tell the advocate! I appreciate all suggestions.
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I agree on the swallow study. My dad had the same problem and now uses a thickening agent in all drinks.
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My dad had problems swallowing pills and the best solution was putting them in pudding if they were small enough. A great majority of pills can be crushed even though the directions say to not crush–depends on how they are made. We dissolved multi-vitamins (I swear those things shouldn’t be allowed to be that big!) in jiggers of soda overnight.
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Of course multivitamins are available as gummies.
That would mean you have working teeth.
As for getting someone up off the floor…if there is an inflatable mattress available you can get the person on top of it and then inflate it. It can raise them up to a height where it’s easier to get them to a standing position.
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My father was frequently given a swallow test during his rehab stays. The results dictated what type of food they would serve him.
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