Organization Wide Fall prevention

Goals of our falls program Organization wide Work smarter not harder Everyone is involved and responsible

Step 1: Change your thoughts…. Falling is not normal-there is always a reason and a prevention It takes the whole community to keep people safe-all staff must play a part Just because they fall frequently does not mean there is “nothing” that can be done More work on the front end=less work later

Step 2: Look at each situation separately Who do we serve – Community – Home Care – Assisted Living – Skilled Nursing facility How can we effectively help them

Step 3: Staff buy in and understanding Many different approaches for staff understanding – Initial, annual and continual Establishing and educating the goals of the program to staff Posting actual results on a monthly basis

Step 4: Tools needed to accomplish goals Assessments at all levels Community, Homecare, AL and SNF Exercise classes Rounding and roving (4 P’s) Permanent staffing (know the person) Think beyond situation to habits, environment and signs to predict falling

Community, Home Care & Assisted Living What is our goal? – Helping them understand dangers – Giving them tools to improve How can we help?? – Monthly education classes – Physiological assessments – Free exercise classes – Periodic reassessments

Skilled Nursing Facility What needed improvement – Initial assessments – Fall investigations – Fall prevention plan – Medication Management – Staff oversight of residents (rounding /roving and permanent staffing) – Attitudes about “who’s job is it really”

Skilled Nursing Facility What was added – Resident exercise classes – Monthly data sharing with staff about falls – Better tools for investigating falls (whole picture) – Short shift workers to cover the high fall volume hours – Awareness of all workers that they play an important part in the residents safety

Things that did not work Reminding and re-educating residents to ask for help Telling staff to “do it” without their input and understanding Having expectations that are unachievable Carrot and stick approach VS understanding we all are an important part of solution

Outcomes for community, Homecare and Assisted Living Stronger and more educated public Community members are familiar with our services and trust MCHS Participants know better where they are at and how to improve themselves

Outcomes so far for nursing home… Staff able to generate better interventions because they have understanding of why the person fell. Stronger residents Falls decreased – 2010 Average 17 falls per month – 2011 Average 9 falls per month

Presenters Cindy Iverson-Director of Nursing Kathy Murken- Assistant Director of Nursing Helen Stafsholt-Outreach Coordinator