Patient Safety Strategies: Evidence-Based Practices for Fall Prevention

Virginia Hall, DNP, MSN/Ed, RN, CNE, HCRM
Carole Eldridge, DNP, RN, CNE, NEA-BC

Patient falls are a fixture in The Joint Commission’s list of top 10 sentinel events; in fact, they were the third highest sentinel event reported to the accreditor in 2016. Causes of falls range from inadequate assessment, medication or disease side effects, and environmental hazards to a lack of leadership or staff orientation—yet until now, there’s never been a single guide on fall prevention initiatives.

Patient Safety Strategies: Evidence-Based Practices for Fall Prevention takes you step-by-step through setting up a successful and sustainable evidence-based multidisciplinary fall prevention program to protect patients. It also covers how to keep proper documentation in order to avoid possible litigation.

This book will help staff understand:

• How to identify risk factors that lead to falls using a multidisciplinary approach
• Proper response, documentation, and follow-up assessment procedures to a fall

An evidence-based fall prevention program that is multidisciplinary now includes all members of the healthcare team. This provides patients in all settings with the best and safest approach to the prevention of falls.

Table of Contents:

• Chapter 1 – Introduction
• Chapter 2 – Planning Care Through Screening and Assessment
• Chapter 3 – Risk Factors for Falls
• Chapter 4 – Modifications Based on Risk Factor Identification: Prevention Strategies
• Chapter 5 – Developing an Evidence-Based Fall Prevention Program
• Chapter 6 – Fall Response
• Chapter 7 – Pediatric Falls

About the authors:

Virginia Hall, DNP, MSN/Ed, RN, CNE, HCRM, is an associate professor for the online RN-BSN degree program at Chamberlain University. With over 40 years of professional experience in nursing, Dr. Hall’s background includes nursing instruction, management, emergency nursing, and patient safety. She has served over 10 years in the long-term care arena, in a supervisory and nursing assistant educator role, in addition to serving as director of nursing and administrator of two facilities. Dr. Hall is a member of the National League for Nursing and the Phi Pi Chapter of The Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Additionally, she is an editorial reviewer for Holistic Nursing and has given numerous professional presentations in the areas of online learning, nursing education, and patient safety. She is also a certified HealthCare Risk Manager in the state of Florida.

Carole Eldridge, DNP, RN, CNE, NEA-BC, currently the vice president of post-licensure and graduate programs for Chamberlain University, has more than 40 years of experience in nursing and education, including experience in starting and managing healthcare companies.

Eldridge has opened and operated several Medicare and private-duty home health agencies, a hospice, a medical equipment company, and a healthcare publishing company, overseeing a four-state homecare company as CEO for several years. She served as vice president of resident and quality services for a nationwide assisted living company. Eldridge has written and published more than 60 training publications for unlicensed attendants in long-term care as well as textbook chapters and articles for professional journals.

Published: December 2017

Page count: 140
Dimensions: 8.5” X 11”
ISBN: 978-1-68308-105-0