Fall Prevention in Long Term Care Facilities

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At Diversicare Rehabilitation, DVCR, between the months of May and July, there were fifty-two falls. Of these falls, twenty-two resulted in major injuries and were reportable to state. All the reportable falls resulted in a form of injury. The injuries noted were ten hip fractures, five femur, three shoulder and four elbow fractures. Out of all the falls, twelve falls with major injuries occurred to residents who had suffered a fall within the past week. Two falls were reportable to the coroner but they were both ruled non-related. In this project, there will be a review of the causes of falls at DVCR. The project will review main reasons why this is such a problem at this facility. The project will focus on the preventable falls and those that may have been avoided. There will be recommendations to prevent falls and an evaluation will be done to determine whether the recommendations are effective in preventing falls. Falls in nursing homes residents are associated with morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. The centers for Medicare and Medicaid indicate falls as the quality indicator. (Leland, Gozalo, Teno, Mor, 2012). Factors such as new environment, medication, cognition, and non-compliance contribute to falls. A significant number of falls occur from wheelchairs. (Willy, 2013). Newly admitted residents to long-term care facilities are confused with the change. The new environment and the new unfamiliar faces increase the level of anxiety. Pain may also contribute to falls. In order to take tailor made preventative measures, fall risk factors for each resident should be evaluated periodically. Tools scoring risk factors can be utilized. In long-term care, falls are the most dreaded events. Falls, especially those resultin... ... middle of paper ... ...geriatrics society, 60(5), 939-945. doi: 1532-5415.2012.03931.x Papas, E., & Cluxton, R. J. (2011). Vitamin D: beneficial for pain, fracture, and falls in long-term care residents?. Annals of long term care, 19(5), 33-36. Risk factors for falls in older people in nursing homes and hospitals. A systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of gerontology & geriatrics, 56(3), 407-415. doi:10.1016/j.archger.2012.12.006 Sterke, C. S., Ziere, G., van Beeck, E. F., Looman, C. N., & Van Der Cammen, T. M. (2012). Dose-response relationship between selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors and injurious falls: a study in nursing home residents with dementia. British journal of clinical pharmacology, 73(5), 812-820. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2125.2011.04124.x Willy, B. (2013). Gravity assisted seating: Prevention of wheelchair related falls in nursing homes. Gerinotes, 20(2), 8-10.

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