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Protect the Elderly from Dangerous Bed Rails

To: Consumer Product Safety Commission, Food and Drug Administration

Please protect vulnerable elderly consumers by establishing minimum safety standards for all adult bed rails and prohibiting the use of dangerous bed rails currently in use.

No medical device or consumer product should kill or injure those who use it. Yet as you know, that is exactly what many bed rails – both portable rails that can be attached to a bed and bed systems with side bed rails – have been doing for years.

The statistics are appalling:

-- Data from the Food and Drug Administration show that 550 people have died from bed rails since 1995;

-- Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) data reveal that almost 37,000 people have been injured between 2003 and 2012.

Sadly, we know that the numbers of elderly and other consumers impacted by dangerous bed rails are even higher due to under-reporting.

When data from the CPSC showed that there were 13 child fatalities in a 10-year period, the agency moved appropriately to promulgate regulations to protect children. The New York Times reported that 10 times or more adults than children have died in a similar time period, yet there are no mandatory standards in place for adult bed rails.

In this country we've worked hard to keep vulnerable children safe in bed. Why can't we do the same for the vulnerable elderly? We need regulations that prevent deaths and injuries from bed rails - regardless of how they are classified and where they are found. We, the undersigned, urge the CPSC and FDA to develop mandatory safety rules and to resolve any jurisdictional issues between agencies.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
This petition is no longer active.
This petition has a goal of 1000 signatures
76-100 of 552 signatures
Number Date Name Organization Location Why do you care about this ...
477 Fri Mar 01 09:27:42 EST 2013 Deborah Hill Winter Park, FL I am an advocate for the eldery and disabled. They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
476 Thu Feb 28 23:05:42 EST 2013 Jacqueline B. Sears New Hope Miss. Baptist Church Gates, NC I care because I am a Senior Citizens,
and we had Senior Citizens to fall off a bed with no rails and died.
475 Thu Feb 28 18:55:51 EST 2013 Gail Simon Family Council Apple Rehab Saybrook CT East Haven, CT I have witnessed one too many times when aides would turn my mother to reposition or to change and my mother was scared to death. More than once her face was pushed against the bedrail and her knees would More....
474 Thu Feb 28 17:17:10 EST 2013 Paul Severance Center for the New Elder Beech Grove, IN It is an outrage that so many elders have been injured and killed in this way, and nothing has been done about it!
473 Thu Feb 28 17:10:17 EST 2013 Mary McClure LTC Ombudsman Program Riverside, CA
472 Thu Feb 28 11:30:28 EST 2013 Julie sanchez albq, NM I lived in a nursing home for 3 1/2 years and have seen the problems firsthand. It definitely needs to be addressed.
471 Thu Feb 28 11:10:52 EST 2013 Sara Hunt NORC Washington, DC Consumers need protection from dangerous bed rails which are often thought to be safety devices. The Tennessean article on Feb 27, 2013, described a nursing home resident whose head was trapped between More....
470 Thu Feb 28 10:44:15 EST 2013 Joan Miller n/a Maben, MS I am a advocate for nursing home residents . I am a senior citizen myself and have a loved one in a nursing home.
469 Thu Feb 28 10:43:22 EST 2013 Virginia Moore-Bell Alabama Department of Senior Services Montgomery, AL As State Ombudsman, I have witnessed the safety issue of bed rails with vulnerable seniors and persons with disabilites, and have heard from family members and local ombudsmen on this issue.
468 Thu Feb 28 09:54:14 EST 2013 Kathy Bradley Our Mother's Voice Lugoff, SC
467 Thu Feb 28 09:44:22 EST 2013 Catherine Unsino Women's City Club of NY New York, NY As an advocate for nursing home residents, I see the great need to be diligent about equipment, practices and attitudes that endanger frail people and limit their well-being.
466 Thu Feb 28 09:43:14 EST 2013 Anonymous Ithaca, NY Two loved ones were in local skilled nursing facilities, so we know how important this safety measure is.
465 Tue Feb 26 10:31:12 EST 2013 Sam Arcus Olympic Area Agency on Aging/LTCOP Sequim, AZ I am the coordinator of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program for Pima County in Arizona. The issue of bed rails comes up often. Families feel that the bed rails will keep their loved ones safe but the More....
464 Sat Feb 23 00:02:43 EST 2013 Anonymous scappoose, OR I am a C.N.A an see the need.
463 Thu Feb 21 13:22:39 EST 2013 Maria Michlin Anoka, MN Although Minnesota has implemented laws which put some limits on bed rail usage, this is not true of all states. Federal regs should be implemented to protect vulnerable adults while allowing the appropriate More....
462 Tue Feb 19 23:47:39 EST 2013 Margaret Niederer IL I know of a facility that did not repair its bed rails, but "fixed" them with duck tape, etc. causing the death of one resident. Safety rules will provide direction to state surveyors to always inspect More....
461 Tue Feb 12 15:46:04 EST 2013 Elaine Cox Round Rock, TX My other is a resident in an Alzeheimer Special Care facility.
460 Mon Feb 11 11:09:38 EST 2013 Kathy Hershbeger LTC Ombudsman - IN South Bend, IN
459 Tue Feb 05 18:35:20 EST 2013 Emily Grooms Assisted Living at Silver Gardens Dallas, TX WE take care of folks with dementia---until the end of their life.
458 Tue Feb 05 12:34:40 EST 2013 Naomi Dreskin Law office Napa, CA
457 Tue Feb 05 11:24:58 EST 2013 Merikay Jones Student Temple, TX
456 Fri Feb 01 08:18:24 EST 2013 Penny Shaw MA Advocates for Nursing Home Reform Braintree, MA This is a scandalous practice of restraing the elderly that might kill them. Every single individual deserves the opportunity to be safe.
455 Tue Jan 29 21:27:17 EST 2013 Anonymous Des Moines, IA I have seen firsthand some of the dangers of siderail use.
454 Tue Jan 29 21:06:00 EST 2013 Marcia Hockenberry ANITA, IA Everyone should care! Manufacturers profit from the sale of this equipment. They should be held to a standard of safety for the very people from whom they profit.
453 Tue Jan 29 20:30:28 EST 2013 Anonymous Frederick, MD It is your job to ensure product safety and be a voice for those who may not be able to give it.
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