THE WILLIS FAMIY & DAD’S FALL AT THE HOSPITAL 3/26/17
N480 VISUAL ISSUU REPORT JASAMIN LAHOOTY FALLS IN THE POST-OPERATIVE SETTING
Falls are dangerous whether they occur at home or inpatient. Hospital falls are an important cause of morbidity, especially in frail, elderly surgical patients. According to The American Journal of Surgery, “One or more postoperative falls occurred in 1.6% of surgical inpatients” (2012).
Many patients think they are not a risk of falling in the hospital because they think they are healthy, and self-sufficient. Patients have been known to ignore the nurses’ insistence on using the call-light and waiting for assistance before getting out of bed, believing they are simply being too cautious and intrusive. “Do you think anyone who suffers a fall, intended to?”
What patients fail to consider is fact that they are often on an alerted medication regimen which can affect their cognitive abilities and memory. In addition, the patient just went through major surgery and the body needs time to recover. Additionally, after receiving anesthesia, balance and mobility are not the same as they were on admission. Variables associated with postoperative falls included older age, functional dependence, lower albumin level, and higher American Society of Anesthesia score. It is because of these variables that male patients have an increased risk to fall after surgery while in the hospital.
Falls among hospitalized patients gained wide recognition in 2008 when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services defined an inpatient fall as a hospital-acquired condition (Church et al., 2012). What this means is that hospitals stopped receiving any additional reimbursements for care resulting from injuries sustained from an inpatient fall.
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Because of the excess morbidity related to inpatient falls, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations lists hospital fall prevention programs as one of the key Patient Safety Goals of hospital programs
Falls are an important cause of morbidity including fractures, closed head trauma, lacerations and skin tears in hospitalized patients. Worse outcomes including prolonged hospital stay and death are related to inpatient falls.
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Introduction; description of condition and family member with condition, description of family structure (ages, developmental stage dynamics, and functions).
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Culture/Religious traditions; Strengths and Challenges for family unit dealing with the condition; Communication practices- verbal 5 and non- verbal. Application of Family Theory; State problems, Utilize nursing process with three evidence-based interventions and three possible 15 outcomes. Cite resources using peer reviewed journal articles. Visually appealing and meaningful (not decorative) Cite sources for images. Limit to 68 pages. the
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Format: Utilized APA 6 ed; quality of content, cite resources using nursing journals (peer reviewed) and course textbooks. Also, 5 include citations for personal communication following APA format. Include reference page. Spelling, grammar and punctuation. TOTAL SCORE POSSIBLE / ACTUAL STUDENT SCORE
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References Denham, S., Eggenberger, S., Young, P. & Krumwiede, N. (2015) FamilyFocused nursing care. F.A. Davis: Philadelphia. Kaakinen, J., Duff-Gedaly, V., Hanson, S. & Coelho, D. (2015) th Family health Care nursing: Theory, practice and research (5 ed.). F.A. Davis: Philadelphia Church, S., Robinson, T. N., Angles, E. M., Tran, Z. V., & Wallace, J. I. (2012). Postoperative falls in the acute hospital setting: characteristics, risk factors, and
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outcomes in males. The American Journal of Surgery, 201(2), 197-202.
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