Baycrest Health Sciences & Baycrest Foundation Publications
Issue link: http://baycrest.uberflip.com/i/876680
KL-CARE Annual Report 2016-2017 Page 20 PATIENT-CENTRED FALLS PREVENTION Engaging patients in a falls- prevention program on a geriatric rehabilitation unit Falls can pose critical risks to older adults, as these events can lead to injury and other complications that impact a person's health and quality of life. Healthcare professionals find themselves dealing with the immediate and long-term impacts that falls can have on the elderly, such as reduced mobility, increased risk of depression, and increased mortality. The Slow Stream Rehabilitation Unit at Baycrest developed a novel program geared towards promoting falls risk knowledge among patients on the unit. Engaging patients in individualized care planning for falls was identified as the main change idea that would facilitate improvement in falls risk. The program consisted of three approaches: safety huddles carried out at the patients' bedside to discuss the patients' falls risk, patients' falls risk self-assessments where patients rated their own risk of falls, and the development of individualized care plans within the Falls Risk Assessment Tool in the electronic health record. KL-CARE's evaluation of this program found that patients were able to identify their own risk of falls. Patients worked with the clinical team to create tailored, individualized plans to help them address their own unique situations. In addition, KL-CARE found that nurses were better able to create falls-prevention strategies and safety interventions for their patients, while being increasingly aware of their patients' falls risk. Meanwhile, patients were able to increase their access to care and support surrounding falls prevention. Overall, the program fostered collaboration and communication between staff and patients on this rehabilitation unit, and it resulted in a tailored, patient-centred care approach to falls care planning. Taken together, this care model can be translated into other rehabilitation units that are dedicated to providing care for older adults. CLINICAL SERVICES SUPPORT