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Hi Rita, Maybe Jesse "The Mind" Ventura can help. Write To Jesse Ventura At: The Honorable Jesse Ventura Governor of Minnesota 130 State Capitol 75 Constitution Avenue Saint Paul MN 55155 Phone: 651.296.3391 [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] Barbara Blake-Krebs 58/44 a former Minnesotan [log in to unmask] << Rules and regulations established by states are sometimes beyond my comprehension. Side rails on beds in nursing homes: because of a few strangulation deaths from patients getting "tangled or caught" on their side rails, nursing homes can no longer use side rails on the beds of patients........subject to fine ($500 per bed per day in Minnesota) by state inspectors if they are not removed. We have had a short (1/2 length) side rail on my mother's bed for the past eighteen months. This not only prevents her from falling out of the bed.....but enables her to grasp the side when she wants to turn, pull herself up or is being put to bed (she is not ambulatory....wheel chair, assists needed into/out of bed. She can stand for only a few seconds.....but not without assistance. We asked if we could sign a release for the nursing home to maintain the 1/2 side rail since it allowed for some independence in movement for her (with nothing to grasp to pull....she is unable to reposition herself easily).....plus warranted concern about her falling from bed when she is disoriented. My sister and I have medical power of attorney....we can refuse oxygen, feeding tube, and drugs.......(or okay the same). The state of Minnesota will not accept our permission for a side rail......."the patient has a right to fall". Even though nursing home staff definitely feel that the 1/2 rail is an assistance for Mother and improves her quality of life, allowing some freedom of movement.......the state inspectors say "no rails". In Minnesota, staff and families are fighting to use side rails with family permission. Are any other states encountering these problems with new regulations? Rita Weeks 54/9 >>