Inpatient Injurious Falls

This work has significance because staff and patient education can help prevent falls. Specific interventions decrease falls. Nurses have a responsibility to their patients and their facility to be competent and confident in their abilities to do all that they can to prevent falls. Facilities have the responsibility to provide the tools and the training that is required to carry out fall prevention

According to the Joint Commission Resources-JCR (2005), there is no universally accepted definition of a fall. Thus several definitions have been floated over time in an attempt to define the same. One such definition of a fall is "an untoward event that results in the patient or resident coming to rest unintentionally on the ground or another lower surface" (Joint Commission Resources, 2005). Falls are regarded common causes of injury at every age. However, it is important to note that for seniors, falls can have serious consequences. This is more so the case given that a fall can bring about pain, trauma, or even death. With that in mind, the primary purpose of this program remains the reduction of falls and hence the aversion of related injuries amongst the concerned patients. Of key importance remains the identification of patients who appear to be at high risk of falling. This way, appropriate strategies can be developed to reduce the injuries related to inpatient falls.

Burns, E.R., Stevens, JA. & Lee, R. (2016). The direct costs of fatal and non-fatal falls

An assisted fall is when a staff member witnesses a patient's fall and attempts to minimize the impact of descend. Many patient falls occurring during hospital encounters may cause little or no harm but some can result in serious and even possibly life-threatening consequences for many patients such as hip fractures and head trauma. Even when a fall does not lead to death, it can require prolonged hospitalization. Some could suffer disability, loss of function, and lose their independence or premature death. “Patient falls in hospitals are a common and often preventable adverse event. Nurses routinely conduct fall risk assessment on all patients, but communication of fall risk status and tailored interventions to prevent falls is variable at best.” (Hurley,

Problem Significance Fall is a nursing sensitive issue that require more attention from all healthcare professionals. As patients’ safety is one of many responsibilities of nurses, it is crucial for nurses to address issue related to fall injuries. The goal of nursing practice is to promote health and to alleviate pain and

During hospitalizations, falls are amongst the highest preventable consistent adverse events. Preventing such undesirable events, enhances patient overall experience, as well as increased trust in the health care professional team (Fragata, 2011). The importance of fall prevention lies with the many serious unfavorable health outcomes it can pose on the patient. Falls have the potential increase length of hospital stay, limit mobility, independence, but can ultimately lead to health deterioration, including death. Worldwide, falls are the second leading cause of accidental death. In addition to the life-threatening health and safety risks falls have to the patient, it also as a financial impact,

Falls are a serious health concern for people and an important issue for nurses. Many factors contribute to the causes of falls, apart from cognitive impairment. The consequences of patient falls are becoming a serious issue for patients and society.

The lack of proper education on identification of falls risk and falls prevention measures impact patient falls. Staff turnover and the use of temporary staff contribute to miscommunication or lack of communication on processes such as fall prevention measures. Experience levels vary on any given unit. Educational needs assessments should be routine and include temporary and new staff. Authors Manojlovich, Sidani, Covell, and Antonakos (2011) define nurse dose as “the level of nurses required to provide patient

Studies have shown that in acute care hospitals that fall rates range from 1.3 to 8.9 falls/1000 patient days and that rates are higher in areas that focus on neurology, rehabilitation and eldercare. (QualityMeasures, 2017). Unintentional falls can cause serious injury to the patient which can increase then their length of stay as well as increasing their cost of care. Notably, the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries are falls. (CDC, 2017). In addition, falls can cause bones to fracture and break which could require surgery. Thus, if surgery is required that may require additional rehabilitation after the hospital or a stay a skilled nursing facility or some are left permanently disabled. Consequently, falls can increase

Montalvo, (2007) stated falls should be under both a process and an outcome measure category. Falls are a very important nurse indicator because falls/injury can cause the hospital to spend a lot of money to treat accidents that happen after the fall. Falls can be prevented if the hospital has adequate staff, well light and clutter free rooms. My rationale for considering this nursing indicator will endorse awareness into patient safety on fall preventions while providing quality healthcare. I believe if the hospital facilities monitored for fall risk and prevention methods more closely they could have drastic decrease in the number of falls.

A fall can make wide spread consequences on the health service or can be affected seriously by the increased health care utilization. Among the fallers approximately 30% of falls result in physical injury leading to extensive hospitalization with significant hospital expenses (Tzeng & Yin 2010). Preventive care phases can support health services to regulate the spare expenditure to a greater extend. A fall in hospital consequently affects the nursing staff, which lead to impaired job satisfaction, additional work load and startling time consume. As the front line of care, nurses can prevent falls and reduce fall injury rates in acute care unit with available resources (Dykes et al. 2013). This literature review aims to assess the efficiency of planned interventions to reduce the incidence of falls in acute medical units. The discussions of the main findings of the review as well as the recommendations for further research are revealed to conclude this study.

As a nurse we want to ensure that our patients receive a high quality of care. Patients should feel safe and satisfied while hospitalized. Many hospitals are continually looking for answers and implementation to significantly reduce the inpatient fall incidents. According to Bechdel et al (2014), the top priority of health care organizations nationwide is to reduce and eliminate falls within the clinical care settings. One of the serious problems in acute care hospital is the patient’s fall. The unfamiliar environment, acute and co-morbid illnesses, prolonged bedrest, polypharmacy, and the placement of tubes and catheters are common challenges that place patients at risk of falling. Most of the falls that I have encountered while working involves

Current nursing practices are based on strict standards and requirements issued by The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMC) and The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). The CMS requires facilities to provide a safe environment for care and failure to do so risks losing Medicare Medicaid funding. In fact, facilities no longer receive payments for treating injuries caused by in-hospital falls. The JCAHO National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) requires nursing home to reduce the risk of patient harm resulting from falls and to implement a falls-reduction program. The NPSG has been upgraded to a standard that requires facilities to assess and manage the patient’s risks for falls and implement interventions to reduce falls based on this assessment. The current nursing practice for fall interventions begins with assessment. Patients are assessed and reassessed to identify and address any risks factors including underlying medical or medication conditions. Risk Assessment Tools for predicting falls score each category identified as a potential risk. For example, categories include Medication, Activity/Mobility, Elimination, Previous Falls, Length of Stay, Mental Status, and Age all can influence the

Falls are the second most common adverse event within health care institutions following medication errors, and an estimated 30% of hospital-based falls result in serious injury. The severity of this problem led the Joint Commission to make reducing the risk of patient injuries from falls a national patient safety goal for hospitals in 2009 (AHRQ, 2006). Falls are a leading cause of hospital-acquired injury and frequently prolong and complicate hospital stays and result in poor quality of life, increased costs, and unanticipated admissions to long-term care facilities.

Problem: Patient falls have long been a common and serious problem in hospitals across the nation, causing