Category: Resident Safety

After the Fall: A Step-by-Step Approach to Post-Fall Assessment

Despite the best efforts of staff, sometimes a resident will fall. Immediately after a fall, you should complete a post-fall assessment. The goal of a post-fall assessment is to identify those internal and external factors that caused the fall and to discover the presence of any new or additional risk factors. Collecting this information can help determine the circumstances of and reasons for the fall and assist in designing appropriate interventions to prevent further falls. Take this step-by-step approach to post-fall assessment: STEP 1: Report the fall To ensure that falls are evaluated, they first need to be reported by…

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Environmental Interventions to Ensure Resident Safety in Bathrooms

Residents living in long-term care environments may need special environmental accommodations to ensure their safety. Personal and public spaces—such as bathrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, etc.—should be evaluated to address any potential problems in these spaces, and intervene as necessary.

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“I Hate My Body Alarm:” Maintaining Safety and Dignity in Long-Term Care

Created by an administrator struggling to jump-start culture change in her care community, Through the Looking Glass is a unique program that changes staff attitudes and teaches the importance of person-centered care practices by placing staff directly in the shoes of residents—with remarkable results. Here, program creator Leslie Pedtke tells the story of her employee, Leah, who participated in the program, living as a resident with body alarms, and the weight of the lessons that experience taught her. This post was excerpted from What Living as a Resident Can Teach Long-Term Care Staff: The…

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Bed-Related Injuries: The Dangers of Side Rails

Bed side rails are used extensively in hospitals, nursing facilities, and residential facilities to prevent those in their care from falling from their beds. However, side rails, rather than being protective against falls, actually can increase the risk of bed falls and injury. Many falls out of bed involve residents whose side rails are up. The number of falls and the number of fall injuries both increase when side rails are raised. Though bed side rails can contribute to falls and injury, when used properly, half- or quarter-length side rails can be employed as an assistive device to support residents…

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CAREing About Falls

We know you’re committed to falls prevention. Use this educational poster to increase staff awareness of simple fall prevention strategies. Download this infographic Read the book! Falls in Older People Prevention & Management Fourth Edition By Rein Tideiksaar, Ph.D. Copyright © 2010 by Health Professions Press, Inc. Filled with practical strategies, assessment tools, and management practices, this award-winning falls management resource includes all the medical, rehabilitative, and environmental strategies needed in any care setting to protect the safety and health of at-risk older adults. Learn more…

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Understanding Fall Risk in Older Adults: The Internal and External Factors

Any resident in your care facility can fall, but certain conditions or situations place certain residents at higher risk. In order to prevent falls, it is important to know what conditions place residents at increased risk of falling. Fall risk factors are usually grouped into two categories: Internal factors and external factors. INTERNAL FACTORS Internal factors of fall risk involve what is going on with the resident him- or herself to increase risk, and include medical conditions and medication effects. Previous falls Residents who have fallen previously are far more likely to fall again. Many residents who fall do so…

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It’s Time to Revolutionize Elder Care

Dr. Al Power, award-winning author and internationally renowned geriatrician, opened the 2016 Eden Alternative International Conference with his keynote address focusing on the conference theme: It’s about time. Always an eloquent speaker, Al presented the audience with four points, all prefaced with, “It’s about time we…” Groundbreaking and possibly even controversial, the ideas presented here are entirely person-directed (the absolute core of culture change). Dr. Power presents his ideas with examples of model communities who adopted these practices—across the board, there was an increase in improved lives of elders in dementia care facilities. The…

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