When to Request Equipment

Home safety equipment — grab bars, shower chairs, raised toilet seats, hospital beds — can dramatically reduce fall risk. But the process of getting the right equipment to the right client requires understanding what's available, who prescribes it, and how to advocate through your clinical chain. You are often the person who first recognizes that equipment is needed.

Section 01

Common Durable Medical Equipment for Fall Prevention

Hospital bed: Adjustable height allows optimal positioning for transfers. Side rails (half-rails) assist with repositioning and transfer. Bed alarms can be attached. Requires physician order and insurance authorization for coverage.
Shower chair or tub bench: Allows seated bathing — the highest single-intervention bathroom safety device. Often available through the home care agency or OT recommendation.
Grab bars: Requires professional installation. OT performs a home safety evaluation and recommends specific locations. Family or home care agency arranges installation.
Raised toilet seat: Raises toilet height 2–4 inches. Available with or without armrests. OT often recommends; some are available over-the-counter.
Bedside commode: Portable toilet for bedside use. Eliminates nighttime bathroom navigation. Requires physician or nurse order for insurance coverage.
Cane or walker: Prescribed by physician or PT. Must be fitted correctly — height and type are clinical decisions, not caregiver decisions.

Section 02

Your Role in Equipment Access

💡 You are the eyes the clinical team doesn't have

The supervising nurse, PT, and OT visit infrequently. You are in the home daily. You see what the client cannot do safely, what equipment is missing, what isn't working, and what the client needs but doesn't have. Your observations — documented and reported — trigger the clinical evaluations and equipment orders that get clients what they need.

Never assume that someone else has noticed what you've noticed. If you observe a safety gap, document it and report it. That report may be the first time the clinical team hears about it.

Section 03

Situations That Warrant an Equipment Report

Client cannot safely rise from the toilet without a raised seat or rails
Client is showering while standing without a chair on wet surfaces
Client is using a chair or towel bar instead of a proper grab bar
Client's cane or walker is damaged, incorrect height, or missing a tip
Bed height is inappropriate for safe transfers
Client is navigating to bathroom at night with significant risk
Client has been observed reaching for unstable furniture for support during ambulation

Section 04

Equipment the Family Has Purchased vs. Prescribed Equipment

⚠ Not all equipment is equivalent

Families frequently purchase fall prevention equipment from drugstores or online without professional guidance — and sometimes choose the wrong product or the wrong size. Common examples:

Grab bars installed with suction cups (not safe)
A walker that is the wrong type or height for the client's needs
A raised toilet seat that wobbles or does not fit the client's toilet
A shower chair that is too high or too low for the client

If equipment seems inadequate or incorrect, report to the nurse for PT/OT evaluation — do not simply use what is there.

Section 05

Module 3 Complete

✓ Module 3: Assistive Devices and Equipment complete

You now know how to use and check canes, walkers, grab bars, non-slip solutions, and footwear — and you understand how to advocate for the equipment your clients need. Module 4 addresses the exercise and rehabilitation strategies that build the internal fall prevention capacity: strength, balance, and confident movement.