Quality Initiatives for Fall Prevention
Harrington Hospital has implemented several fall prevention strategies including performing a fall risk assessment on every patient upon admission and every shift using a validated and reliable assessment tool, providing patients with non-skid footwear, maintaining beds in their lowest position, assisting ambulation as necessary, performing hourly nursing rounds, and utilizing the call bell system. Additionally, patients who are assessed to be at high risk for falls are identified with color-coded patient wrist bands and room signs, are continuously attended during toileting, and are placed on bed and chair alarms. Any falls that do occur are reported to the responsible nursing director, a fall huddle is conducted within one hour of the event, and documentation is recorded in the electronic medical record. Through these assessment, prevention, and auditing measures, we hope to reduce patient falls within our institution.
Quality Initiatives for Pressure Injury Prevention
Harrington Hospital conducts quarterly pressure ulcer prevention studies. Inpatient skin audits are conducted by our wound care team, and the results are reviewed by nursing leadership and nursing educators. All nurses receive education regarding best practices in pressure ulcer prevention and identification at least annually. Wound care consults are ordered for any patients that are assessed to be at risk for pressure injuries using a validated assessment tool. We have ordered new hospital beds which have a specialized, pressure-reduction surface which has been proven to decrease pressure injuries by the manufacturer. All patients are assessed by two nurses upon admission for pre-existing wounds and for risk of developing pressure injuries during their hospital stay. All patients are regularly re-assessed for skin breakdown and pressure injuries multiple times during every shift through our hourly rounding program. Any hospital acquired pressure injuries are reported to the responsible nurse leader and are reviewed by a multidisciplinary team. These educational, monitoring, and auditing interventions should reduce our pressure injury prevalence.
August 2022
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| 10 August 2022 |
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