Nurses, CNA's, all "hands-on" inpatient healthcare workers, I need your help!! I need your opinions on bed alarms! If you will please answer my questions, I'd be forever grateful. Thank you so much!
1) What kind of facility do you work for? (Hospital, Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Home Health Agency)
2) How often do you come into contact with bed alarms?
3) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being not effective at all, 5 being completely effective), how would you rate the effectiveness of bed alarms?
4) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do you find dead batteries in bed alarms to go undetected in your facility?
5) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do bed alarms sound without being heard in your facility?
6) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often is it difficult to locate a sounding alarm in your facility?
7) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often are bed alarms left disconnected in your facility?
8) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do bed alarms malfunction with no apparent reason in your facility?
9) What other problems do you encounter with bed alarms?
10) In your opinion, what percentage of falls do you believe are prevented by bed alarms now?
11) In your opinion, if the issues discussed in Question #'s 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 were resolved, what percentage of falls do you believe could be prevented by bed alarms?
nurses, cna's, all "hands-on" inpatient healthcare workers, i need your help!! i need your opinions on bed alarms! if you will please answer my questions, i'd be forever grateful. thank you so much!
1) what kind of facility do you work for? (hospital, nursing home, assisted living, home health agency) nh
2) how often do you come into contact with bed alarms? daily, sometimes hourly, sometimes every 5 minutes!
3) on a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being not effective at all, 5 being completely effective), how would you rate the effectiveness of bed alarms? 3
4) on a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do you find dead batteries in bed alarms to go undetected in your facility? 4
5) on a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do bed alarms sound without being heard in your facility? 3
6) on a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often is it difficult to locate a sounding alarm in your facility? 4
7) on a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often are bed alarms left disconnected in your facility? 4
8) on a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do bed alarms malfunction with no apparent reason in your facility? 3
9) what other problems do you encounter with bed alarms? patients many times dislike the alarms, find them annoying, staff are not always able to come to aid right away...(with another patient in the middle of a treatment, etc) or honestly do not hear the alarms, if they are 3 rooms or more away with a door shut. though alarms sometimes do prevent falls, they also take away some dignity imo.
10) in your opinion, what percentage of falls do you believe are prevented by bed alarms now? 25%
11) in your opinion, if the issues discussed in question #'s 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 were resolved, what percentage of falls do you believe could be prevented by bed alarms? 50%
12) comments?
thanks so much!!!!
comments: more things need to be in care plan for most of the pt's with bed alarms, other tactics, etc, for when alarm keeps going off every 5 minutes!
" Falls are also affected by staffing. When we are short CNAs.. the bed alarms could still be functioning well and a fall is more likely to occur because they are busy in a room and not in their hallways.
12) Comments?... A bed alarm is not going to keep a patient from falling out of bed. Often we catch the patient while they are still sitting on the side of the bed but there have been times when the alarm goes off and in that 5 seconds or longer it takes to respond .. the patient is already on the floor.
So true! I think about 50% of falls could be prevented by adequate staffing of CNA's!!! Many times, I see residents with tab alarms attempt to transfer themself, so the personal alarm is sounding. They got tired of waiting 20 minutes for a CNA to help assist them to the bathroom. (Too many residents, not enough staff. Sometimes our facility has 30 residents to one CNA on NOC's!!)
1) What kind of facility do you work for? Hospital.
2) How often do you come into contact with bed alarms? Almost every night I work.
3) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being not effective at all, 5 being completely effective), how would you rate the effectiveness of bed alarms? 0-1.
4) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do you find dead batteries in bed alarms to go undetected in your facility? 5
5) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do bed alarms sound without being heard in your facility? 4
6) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often is it difficult to locate a sounding alarm in your facility? 5
7) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often are bed alarms left disconnected in your facility? 3
8) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do bed alarms malfunction with no apparent reason in your facility? 0
9) What other problems do you encounter with bed alarms? They go off for no reason, the patient doesn't meet the weight requirement, they don't go off until the patient is already out of bed.
10) In your opinion, what percentage of falls do you believe are prevented by bed alarms now? 5% maybe.
11) In your opinion, if the issues discussed in Question #'s 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 were resolved, what percentage of falls do you believe could be prevented by bed alarms? Tough to say...15%?
12) Comments? Bed alarms are useless. Personal alarms are better, but not perfect. People have the right to fall and they will fall no matter what.
We use portable "tabs" monitors and bed alarms on anyone that's confused or doesn't follow instructions (75%+ of our patient census right now) and the bed alarms are mandated at night. If there's a fall, that's the first question that's asked... was the bed alarm on?
Honestly, I don't like them, but I do think they can be useful, when used correctly. We also do hourly rounding, both were mandated after our unit had almost a year of no falls then had 10 in two months.. I can tell you, it wasn't anyone I was around or knew, but I hear a lot of falls weren't reported during this time... That's just sad.. Then when they are reported, bed alarms are mandated... and I think our fall rate has actually gone up this year. I find bed alarms useful with the elderly (as long as you explain clearly why you're doing it) and for patients with weakness that think they can make it to the bathroom on their own...Oh and bed alarms are great if you have a delirious patient that you can't sit with all day/night and you warn your coworkers about them in case they're near... that's when they can be a life saver. I became a part of the fall prevention team on our unit, to be proactive after I had two falls from alert/oriented patients who I would've never guessed would fall... It made me want to become more proactive about this... I know that from our research, all of our falls happen at change of shift and when staff is low. It really didn't matter at all in our stats if the bed alarms were on or not. Tabs monitors are a little different... we never saw a patient fall with a tabs monitor on from our two years of pulled data... I've seen a lot of almost falls thanks to them. Some patients that are fall risks but are oriented can be very irritated if you don't explain that this is a mandated policy on our floor... After all the research we found too... nothing was done...
Best fall prevention in my book, good team work and making sure all my patients needs are met... Having good nurses and techs around you who are looking out for you and you're looking out for them.. Unfortunately its hard to find that when people are all for themselves on a busy med surg unit. Bed alarms are just ignored during busy hours, understaffed shifts, and report anyways.. its one of the most aggravating hours of any med surg nurse's day... change of shift. I'm always the one that runs bc noone else does during these hours...
Hopefully you won't have to get to a computer every hour to point of care chart that the bed alarm is on like we do... First thing that's pulled by our manager.
1) What kind of facility do you work for? (Hospital, Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Home Health Agency)
I work in a LTC facility
2) How often do you come into contact with bed alarms?
In the health center (not the assisted-living portion of campus) approximately 90% of residents are alarmed.
3) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being not effective at all, 5 being completely effective), how would you rate the effectiveness of bed alarms?
4- I think they are effective as long as staff responds to the alarm
4) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do you find dead batteries in bed alarms to go undetected in your facility?
3- It happens quite a bit.
5) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do bed alarms sound without being heard in your facility?
3- Generally, if the battery is low the alarm sound is diminished
6) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often is it difficult to locate a sounding alarm in your facility?
5- It is not hard to find if you can hear it
7) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often are bed alarms left disconnected in your facility?
4- I think there are a few CNAs/nurses that do it purposely
8) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do bed alarms malfunction with no apparent reason in your facility?
4- Sometimes, the sensor pad is faulty and needs to be replaced
9) What other problems do you encounter with bed alarms?
Some are very sensitive to ANY movement and go off when the resident moves in bed. This is very difficult for the resident because it interrupts what little sleep they get between bed checks.
10) In your opinion, what percentage of falls do you believe are prevented by bed alarms now?
I think that if they are answered immediately, bed alarms prevent at least 80% of falls
11) In your opinion, if the issues discussed in Question #'s 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 were resolved, what percentage of falls do you believe could be prevented by bed alarms?
Nearly 100%
12) Comments
I am a fourth semester nursing student (graduate in December) and a CNA at a local LTC facility. I have a love/hate relationship with bed alarms. If they work properly, have batteries, are turned on, are answered immediately, and are not overly sensitive to every little movement, I think they are a god send for our residents. Many of the people I work with cannot remember that they are unable to ambulate, or cannot ambulate safely alone. My gripe is not with the device but with the staff in facilities that choose to ignore the alarm when it goes off. Just last weekend I was giving a bedbath to a man in isolation and I heard a bed alarm going off. I could not just run out the door to see what was going on so I peaked out the door....the nurse was sitting at the nursing station reading the newspaper!! I knew she heard it because she was closer to the room than I was. I yelled down the hall "________ is up! Go help her or she will fall!!". The nurse, looked at me like "That is NOT my job, you lowly CNA" but then did go to help. I told my co-worker (another CNA) if I ever behave that way as a nurse I hope God will strike me dead in my path. Becoming a CNA first was the best thing I EVER did..I could have kept on waitressing through nursing school (I would have made more money) but the things I have learned are priceless!
1) What kind of facility do you work for? (Hospital, Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Home Health Agency)
Nursing Home
2) How often do you come into contact with bed alarms?
every day about 30% of residents have them
3) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being not effective at all, 5 being completely effective), how would you rate the
effectiveness of bed alarms? ABout a 2
4) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do you find dead batteries in bed alarms to go undetected in your facility? 5
5) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do bed alarms sound without being heard in your facility? 0-1 If no one responds it's usually because it's a faulty alarm that has "cried wolf" one too many times
6) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often is it difficult to locate a sounding alarm in your facility? 1
7) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often are bed alarms left disconnected in your facility?
8) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do bed alarms malfunction with no apparent reason in your facility? 4
9) What other problems do you encounter with bed alarms? They are too sensitive. If they are not exactly placed under the pt they go off when he/she moves the tiniest bit
10) In your opinion, what percentage of falls do you believe are prevented by bed alarms now? maybe 75%
11) In your opinion, if the issues discussed in Question #'s 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 were resolved, what percentage of falls do you believe could be prevented by bed alarms? maybe 90%
1) What kind of facility do you work for? Nursing home
2) How often do you come into contact with bed alarms? On my regular unit, almost every resident has one.
3) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being not effective at all, 5 being completely effective), how would you rate the effectiveness of bed alarms? 3
4) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do you find dead batteries in bed alarms to go undetected in your facility? 4
5) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do bed alarms sound without being heard in your facility? 5... it's a straight hallway so we always hear them. On the other units that have more than one hallway my answer would be a 3.
6) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often is it difficult to locate a sounding alarm in your facility? 3- since we have so many people on them sometimes we have to run like a headless chicken back and forth between a couple rooms.
7) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often are bed alarms left disconnected in your facility? 4/5- VERY rarely
8) On a scale from 0 to 5 (0 being always, 5 being never), how often do bed alarms malfunction with no apparent reason in your facility? 4
9) What other problems do you encounter with bed alarms? They go off constantly even when the resident is sleeping peacefully and hasn't moved a finger (or even if the bed is unoccupied). And getting batteries at my facility is like trying to get into Fort Knox or something. You have to track down the supervisor and ask her and then she gets mad and says she's busy. At the same time you have your floor nurse breathing down your neck to get the replacement. It's even worse when they're locked in the supply room and the girl is gone. The batteries should be stocked in the med cart, but they won't allow that.
10) In your opinion, what percentage of falls do you believe are prevented by bed alarms now? 70%? We usually always make it in there before the resident makes it out of the bed. They have to be pretty quick to end up on the floor because normally if they're climbing out they scoot to the edge first and that sets off the alarm before they get out. If the resident IS quick, or they "catapult" themselves OOB instead of scooting, they get motions alarms too.
11) In your opinion, if the issues discussed in Question #'s 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 were resolved, what percentage of falls do you believe could be prevented by bed alarms? no difference
Leelee2
344 Posts
comments: more things need to be in care plan for most of the pt's with bed alarms, other tactics, etc, for when alarm keeps going off every 5 minutes!