In my work as a Medical Director the past 26 years, I have never had a facility go a month without at least 3 falls.  Despite multiple attempts to reduce fall risk and the risk of fall associated injuries, falls in LTC continue to occur and have serious consequences ~ 5-10% of the time.

In the age of performance improvement, one of my facilities boldly declared they wanted to do better in this area.  I reviewed AMDA’s (American Medical Directors Association) new falls clinical practice guidelines and the AHRQ manual on Falls Management developed by Drs. Jo Taylor and Joe Ouslander, et al.  My subsequent presentation reviewed the many reasons our patients may have high fall risk, as well as potential interventions including various types of alarms.

Having advocated for Alarms in this presentation, I was intrigued by the recent Caring for the Ages article on:  The Buzz:  Facilities Are Going Alarm-Free.  In that article, Sue Ann Guilderman, Director of Education at Empira, a Minnesota-based cooperative of nursing homes, commented on their favorable experience with reducing the use of Alarms.  She further expanded on this work at the just completed CAHF (California Association of Health Facilities) annual Quality Symposium.  The Investigative Falls Tool she presented at this meeting was just what my facilities have been looking for.  CAHF has graciously supplied this tool and other falls resources for your review and potential use. (See below.)

While your facility may not become “Falls Free”, a systematic evidenced based approach to creating a safer facility is possible.  This may be a good PIP (Performance Improvement Project) for 2014.

As you improve your Falls Management, please share that learning with our members through the CALTCM WAVE.

CAHF resources are posted below and on our Forms page for easy reference.

• Fall Prevention Brochure for Family and Friends 
• Fall Scene Investigation Form 
• Falls: Ten Questions at the Time a Resident Falls 
• Reducing and Discontinuing Resident Alarms 

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