465 Preventing Falls in the
Nursing Home – Sharon
Banks
For a long time, falls in nursing homes and assisted living facilities have caused countless injuries. Sharon Banks, has a Master’s in Nursing, is an LNCC, and has worked as a surveyor for healthcare facilities. She shares her wealth of experience about what causes falls, how to determine whether they’re preventable, and how to prevent them.
She states that one out of four people over the age of 65 will fall, either in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or at home. Some are preventable, as when a lucid individual decides to get out of bed without turning on the light. Sharon emphasizes, though, that the staff can do things to reduce the chance of falling. Beds close to the floor and bed alarms have worked well in this regard.
Another problem is residents’ insistence on crowding rooms with their own furniture, which can lead to difficult navigation and possible falls. Because family members may agree to this out of guilt, this is a delicate subject.
Finally, she emphasizes the need for non-judgmental education for all staff members. When employees are considered partners in the learning process, they can come up with innovative solutions to problems. Sharon’s success rate with such educational sessions has been high.
This Legal Nurse podcast is full of practical solutions to the ever-present problem of patients falling. Whether you work in a nursing home or with cases of falling as an LNC, you’ll find much valuable information here
Join me in this episode of Legal Nurse Podcast to learn about Preventing Falls in the Nursing Home – Sharon Banks
- Are falls still an issue in long-term and assisted living facilities?
- What determines a preventable fall?
- Do bed alarms help prevent falls?
- What environmental factors contribute to falls?
- What kind of staff education can help to prevent falls?
Your presenter, Sharon Banks, MN, RN, Legal Nurse Consultant can be reached at info@clarityhealthlaw.com or 301-404-6044.
Sharon as the strategist for Clarity Legal Nurse Consulting PLLC has an extensive background in nursing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist, Electronic Health Record analyst, and extensive experienced in the application of healthcare administrative law to establishing deviation from Standard of Care resulting in immediate jeopardy /emergency suspension and /or revocation of license actions as a result of routine surveys and/or complaint investigation(s), which correlates to establishing the theory of liabilty in cases involving medical issues in health care settings or direct causal relationship between direct causal relationship of injury and harm in personal injury cases as applicable.
Clarity Legal Nurse Consulting PLLC is committed to assisting healthcare facilities and attorneys to signifcantly decrease the occurrence of Never/Sentinel Events.
The Sentinel Event Data 2023 Annual Review¹ concluded that reported sentinel events remains consistent with previuos reporting patterns:
patient falls were the leading event type reviewed at 48%, death at 18%, permanent harm at 8%, and severe harm at 57%
Reference:
1. The Joint Commission Sentinel Event Data 2023 Annual Review
