A Floor Sensor by Mom's Bed: What to Check Before You Commit

At 3am, a sensor on the floor looks like the answer to every fall you did not hear. Before you order one, check what it actually sees and what it leaves out.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Check the first step

Stand where her feet land when she gets out of bed. Most floor sensors trigger on weight or pressure, which means they usually notice her after her feet are already moving. Ask the seller or read the instructions to learn where the sensor lies relative to her first step, and whether it alerts at the bed edge or only once she is on the floor. If it only alerts once she is down, it will not help her stop before she falls.

Check the stop it misses

Walk the whole route with the sensor in place and mark the six stops from bed to toilet. A single sensor covers one spot. The bathroom doorway, the light switch and the turn in the hall are often outside its reach. Write down which stops are covered and which are not, so you know whether the sensor is protecting her or only telling you she has started.

Check the mat itself

A mat or pad on the floor is one more thing she can catch a foot on. Look at the edges, the corners and whether the cord runs across the path. If the mat curls, slides or sits higher than the floor around it, it is a trip hazard of its own.

Ask who gets the alert

Ask where the alert goes and who is awake to receive it. If the alert goes to a phone in another room, or to a house where no one hears it at night, the sensor records the event without changing it. Ask how loud it is, how long it keeps sounding, and whether the alert can be heard from her bed and from your bed.

What to write down

Write down the time of each trigger, whether she was still at the bed edge or already in the hall, and whether she stopped or kept walking. Write down any stop the sensor did not cover. Take this list to the physician if the triggers begin to come more often, because the pattern is a clinical question even if the sensor is only a tool.