Decreasing Falls in the Emergency Department
Author
Leonard, Spencer
Abstract
Decreasing falls in the Emergency Department (ED) is essential to protecting patient safety
during the patient’s time in the ED. When a patient falls, it produces adverse effects contributing
to poor patient outcomes. A community hospital part of a private, not-for-profit healthcare
network in central North Carolina identified a need to decrease falls in the ED. This quality
improvement project aimed to decrease falls in the ED through staff compliance in completing
the fall risk assessment tool on each patient and providing fall prevention interventions to
patients identified as being at high risk for falls. Staff were educated on the importance of using
the Memorial Emergency Department Fall Risk Assessment Tool (MEDFRAT) on each patient.
Staff were expected to apply nonskid socks, bed alarms, and fall-risk armbands to patients
identified as high risk for falling. Weekly audits occurred for twelve weeks during project
implementation. There was a decrease in falls during project implementation compared to the
same time the year prior. Using a bundled approach with a reliable fall risk assessment tool and
multifactorial fall prevention interventions in the project site ED successfully decreased falls,
optimizing patient safety and well-being.
Date
2023-07-18
Citation:
APA:
Leonard, Spencer.
(July 2023).
Decreasing Falls in the Emergency Department
(DNP Scholarly Project, East Carolina University). Retrieved from the Scholarship.
(http://hdl.handle.net/10342/13019.)
MLA:
Leonard, Spencer.
Decreasing Falls in the Emergency Department.
DNP Scholarly Project. East Carolina University,
July 2023. The Scholarship.
http://hdl.handle.net/10342/13019.
April 29, 2024.
Chicago:
Leonard, Spencer,
“Decreasing Falls in the Emergency Department”
(DNP Scholarly Project., East Carolina University,
July 2023).
AMA:
Leonard, Spencer.
Decreasing Falls in the Emergency Department
[DNP Scholarly Project]. Greenville, NC: East Carolina University;
July 2023.
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