A privacy curtain gives the person in the bed a closed space for visits from the hospice team, the aides, and family, and it gives the room a boundary the eye can rest on. Hanging the track is a ceiling job, and it is easy to rush. Many West County houses have older plaster over lath, and that changes how the track must be fastened. Decide first whether you will hang it yourself, ask a handy neighbor, or hire a local installer. Then follow the same order of steps either way.
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.
Step one: set the line before you drill
Stand in the room and decide where the curtain must run. It should close off the bed from the door, the window, or the bathroom doorway, whichever the family and the visiting team need. Measure the full length the track will cover, then add room at each end so the curtain can stack without blocking a door or a light switch. Mark the line with painter's tape and close the curtain along it by hand to check the path.
Step two: confirm what is above the ceiling
A ceiling track is only as strong as what it is fastened into. Use a stud finder that can locate joists, and confirm the joist direction by tapping and, if you can reach it, by looking into the attic or basement. Where no joist falls under the line you need, plan a bracket that spans two joists, or a wall mount with blocking behind it. Check the track's weight rating against the curtain you plan to hang. Drilling into plaster without knowing what lies behind it is the usual reason a track pulls loose later.
Step three: choose the track for the load
Compare the track type (single track, or a dual track that holds two curtains), the carrier design, and the weight rating in the instructions. Choose a track with smooth carriers and a stop at each end so the curtain cannot run off. Keep the box, the model number, and the fastener list with your house papers.
Step four: mark, pilot, and fasten
Use a level along the marked line, mark each fastener location, and drill pilot holes at the size the manufacturer gives. Set each anchor for the surface it will hold. Fasten the track, then pull on each bracket by hand. A bracket that moves is not finished.
Step five: test the glide and the clearance
Hang the curtain, slide it the full length, and watch each carrier pass each bracket without catching. Then walk the room with the bed in its working position. Check that the track clears the headboard, the footboard, any light fixture, the path to the bathroom, and the arc where a bed rail or a lift will swing. Correct anything now, while the brackets are still easy to move.
Step six: the finished work and the paper
If you hire an installer, ask them to walk the finished track with you, to list the fasteners used in writing, and to say what happens if a bracket pulls loose later. Keep the receipt and the model number with the house papers. Write the day the track went up on the calendar you check, so you know where to start if the curtain begins to sag.
Hiring a local installer
Ask about experience with plaster walls and with the ceiling type in your house, not only with drywall. Ask whether they bring the fasteners for the surfaces they will open, who patches the holes, and whether they clean up the drill dust before they leave. Ask for a written scope that lists the track, the brackets, the fasteners, and the patching, so the job does not stop halfway over a question about what was included. If the room is still being planned, the Start Here page on this site is the place to begin.