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Every night, I "talk" my husband into the middle of his bed. An assist bar is necessary for him to sit up. However, he rolls to the very edge of the bed, shoulders the bar away from the bed, and rolls to the floor. I have put pillows on the edge, under the mattress pad- worked for a while. Now he rolls over the pillows, shoulders the bar away from the bed, and rolls out. His ability to move is limited. I am not strong enough to place a removable bed rail after he is in the bed or to get him off the floor. He is not able to get up without help. EMS is here 3-4 times a week. All ideas welcome!

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There are wedges that can be used that are large enough, high enough that they can not be rolled over.
For some a "pool noodle" placed at the edge under the fitted sheet will work.
Is your husband in a hospital bed? If so lower the bed as much as possible and place a mattress or other padding so if he does roll out he will not get hurt. (You may have to call for a "Lift Assist" to get him up.)
Have you tried a bed rail that he can not roll over? (They are not permitted in a facility but they can be used at home)
With a Hospital bed you can use half rails or full rails. You can have a "trapeze bar" placed above so he can use that to help sit up. there are bed alarms that you can use. They can be placed in/on the bed so if he begins to move around it will let you know so you can prevent him from rolling out. Or the alarm can be placed on the floor so you will know if he ends up there, or if he tries to get out of bed.
And if you have a hospital bed I would place 1 side of the bed up against the wall so you have only one side to worry about.
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He must not be in a hospital bed, so that would be my first recommendation. There's really no way he could roll out of that, unless of course you forget to put the side railings up. If you don't want him in a hospital bed, then do what a lot of nursing homes do and place another mattress along side his on the floor, so when he rolls out he's at least falling onto something softer than the floor, and of course make sure one side of his bed is pushed up against the wall. Good luck.
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My Mom had a bed bar that went under the mattress, is this what you are talking about. Moms bar came with a strap that you attached to the bar and anchored it to the bed frame on the other side by pulling it tight. This way the bar would not budge.

In the NH Mom was given a concave mattress. Prevented her from falling out of bed.
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Hi there, I purchased a railing at Walmart. They also have at Walgreens. Bedrail, very easy, Just slide bedrail between mattress and box springs. I have one for Mom works great.
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BilliesDaughter Oct 2020
My mother has one too - it's a lifesaver!
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Can you find a used hospital bed that is electric and rises and lowers pneumatically and has side bars that can go up and down? It might be covered by any insurance he may have so maybe call to ask. I just went into Craigslist.org for my city and searched "hospital bed" and 79 came up for sale in a range of styles and prices. Or you can contact charitable organizations that collect furniture to see if they have any for free. Contact your local area's Agency on Aging for more ideas and resources.
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Before my mother hospital bed I bought full length side rails at a medical supply store, it worked quite well and gave me peace of mind. EZ length adjustable bed assist rail designed for seniors and is a very good one. Use adjustable half rail getting out of bed, full rail fall for night protection.$228 marked down 30% to $160. Hospital bed is best but takes time for Medicare and paper work. I started early and it took quite some time but finally approved and it is such a relief.
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Definitely have doctor help you to get a hospital bed that has attached rails that raise and lower - just like the hospital uses. Dr may be able to document your ability to attach rails to the regular medicare bed. As a matter of fact, it would probably be best to start with a medical supply store and ask them because they know for sure how to have things worded on requests or could tell you straight up if a better bed would ever be considered by Medicare.

Even if you have to pay the difference between what Medicare covers and a better bed - it would be worth it. You can also start watching for used equipment on the internet - craiglist, offerup, used medical supply auctions in your area. (I found a nearly new air mattress for someone - the kind that fills air from one side to the other - for about $100).

Also check in to one of those 'slider' pads that hospitals use to pull people up higher in the bed. They have handles. He lays on it and you can pull to middle of the bed. During the night, if you check on him and he has drifted toward the edge, you could pull him back toward middle. They slide over pretty easy. If this is too much for you - do NOT do it. If you get down in your back, caregiving could be ended for you.

Wonder if some bed length round bolster type pillows would prevent him from going over the top. sew a large pocket down each side of a king sheet and insert the pillows to create a tall bumper on each side of mattress. Could even fill the pocket with pool noodles. Anything that would be much firmer than a bed pillow and create a firm wall on both sides.
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Depending on his prognosis and if hospice is called in , they will order a hospital bed. They did for my mother. It was delivered and set up and when it was no longer needed they had it picked up .. We never got a bill for it , Medicare took care of it .. I am surprised that the EMS are not charging you for coming to the house to get him off the floor .. I recently got a bill from the fire department for a few visits to my house for falls my husband had in June ..,
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chill47 Oct 2020
I can not understand why you were charged, this is a free service the fire dept. provide. I was told to call 911 and let them know that I was making a non-emergency call and that I just needed a lift assist. They will send the fire dept. out and they will check the patient out, if he is not hurt, they leave. If, the patient seems to need medical care, they will call for the EMS to come out and transport to the nearest hospital. I use their services when my husband falls, because he cannot recover from his fall and I cannot lift him.
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You can buy side rails that can go on either side of the bed. Availbale at any medical supply store or on line with Amazon. Look at Amazon first so you can get some idea of what is available.
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For my 93 yr old FIL that kept rolling out of bed we bought the safety bed rails that you put on a child's bed. You pull a latch and it folds down so he can get in and out and we keep the hand rail for him to be able to get in and out himself. Also are you sure he rolls out or is he trying to "escape" in the middle of the night. My dad did this and he would rearrange the kitchen cabinets in the middle of the night. He had Dementia and Parkinsons. We also pushed one side of his bed against the wall. Eventually we got a hospital bed. Good Luck.
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