Right. To. Fall.

Those are the words that solidified my decision to remain unlicensed.

The plan was to open the home unlicensed, then move towards licensing so that we could serve more people. I took the classes, I took the exams, I learned all of the ins and outs of running a small licensed facility in my state. (I advocate that everyone should be familiar with the state standards so that we can operate at least as high, if not higher.) With the arrival of my first resident, her family requested the full bed rails on her bed, which we were happy (and had the freedom) to do for them. In all of the facilities that she had been in, they were illegal to use. The law of course is rooted in protection, and stems from the neglect that happened in licensed facilities- you put the person in the bed, and they can’t get out, and that level of restraint is illegal. My sweet resident had advanced dementia, and couldn’t remember that she had lost the ability to walk unassisted, and the partial bedrails were nothing against her determination to get up and go.

So she got up.

And fell.

Unrestrained and with all her freedom, as the state says, the right to fall.

And that happened again and again, much to her families dismay, the rule made to protect her actually subjected her to great bodily injury as she fell- bruises, contusions, broken bones… She lost all her teeth from her falls, putting her on a puree diet, which she didn’t like and didn’t eat, and she wasted away, her health continuing to fade. She was a shell when she came to us, and started to stir back to life with good food, exercise, and play. She grew stronger and stronger as she ate some of her favorite foods, rattled her bedrails to let us know that she wanted to get up, and walking around inside and outside with our assistance. This beautiful soul who was at the edge of death lived a joyful life for 2 years with us, and she never fell again. Her family was beyond grateful.

The state seeks to protect, yet rules like these hinder the freedom of licensed facilities to provide real care. I love having the ability to honor the requests of the families that I serve. There are many out there that may say that unlicensed homes don’t hold the same quality of care as a licensed facility, and I strongly disagree- we can be BETTER! I am committed to a movement of freedom and of quality care for elders, I hope you join me!