Reducing Falls Within the Geriatric Psychiatry Unit

Abstract

Falls are the leading cause of injury among older adults. Older adults with cognitive impairment and mental illness are at a higher risk of falls. Consequences of falls in the hospital setting increase length of stay, which increases costs for the hospital and the patient. Reimbursement from accrediting bodies may be reduced as well. The first step to reducing falls in the hospital setting is implementing a fall reduction program consisting of mobility screenings, fall alert tracking, and environmental modifications. This project aims to implement standardized fall reduction measures for all patients admitted to an inpatient Geriatric Psychiatry Unit. This project pilot included educating nursing staff on fall reduction strategies and developing a bed alarm screening tool. The goal was 95% compliance with using the bed alarm screening tool. Over fourteen weeks, 794 patients were screened using the bed alarm safety tool. Several limitations and barriers were identified and addressed during the monthly review using the Iowa Model framework. Findings from this project, paired with nursing feedback, laid a foundation for falls education, bed alarm screening tool, mobility screenings, and environmental modifications to be used on the pilot unit and hospital-wide.