Currently, bed rails and bed alarms are considered restraints and therefore are not allowed to be used in long term care facilities. A bed alarm is not a restraint - it simply notifies the staff when someone gets out of bed, which is critical to protecting those at high risk of falling. 

My father has fallen multiple times at the nursing home where he resides, and over the weekend he fell again and is in the hospital with serious injuries.

I am told from his nursing home that, because of the classification of bed alarms by the state of Florida, there’s nothing more that can be put in place once he returns to the nursing home to ensure his safety other than more frequent checks. 

Please help me get this law changed so that bed alarms can be used in nursing homes when needed and families like mine can ensure the safety of their loved ones.