Environmental Safety Quality Measures
More than one third of adults 65 years or older fall each year according to
the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC). Hospitals can be risky
environments for patient falls due to the unfamiliar surroundings, sedating
medications, and altered health states of patients. Proper precautions can
reduce the risk of falling and the injury that often accompanies a fall.
The
Joint
Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) recommends
implementation of a fall reduction program as a patient safety goal for 2006.
The
first step in a fall prevention program is an assessment of the risk to fall
for each patient admitted to the hospital. However, the risk to fall can change
during a hospital stay due to changes in health status, environment, and medications,
and risk must be reevaluated often. Family members may be asked to stay overnight
in order to help prevent falls in certain situations.
At
St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center, the
following fall prevention strategies are used to reduce falls and the subsequent
injury that can occur:
- frequent patient reminders from staff about the importance of asking for help when getting out of bed
- making sure glasses, contacts, or other vision correction devices are available
- walking with a nurse or physical therapist to gain strength before walking alone
- changing or reducing medications, such as narcotics, that alter mental status
- having a family member or hired sitter (non-skilled worker trained to observe patients) stay with patients who are identified as being high risk for falling
- Fall Safe program