Fall Safety Huddles

1. Fall Safety Huddles Elmbrook Memorial Hospital Pilot Start Date 7/30/2012 – Day Shift End Date 8/29/2012- Night Shift

2. Fall Safety Huddles • A safety huddle is a brief gathering of all Nursing Staff [RN and PCA] on the Unit to discuss patients who are at the highest risk of falling • Safety huddles will be held on: • 5 Medical • 6 Surgical • Intensive Care Unit Safety huddles are to held each shift and should be conducted early in the shift [each Unit should determine the time that would work best for their individual unit]

3. Rationale for this Pilot • Falls with severity of injury ≥ 3 per 1000 patient days is one of the measurements for Clinical Excellence • Year to Date [through April 2012] Elmbrook Memorial has a score of 0.18 • This means that Elmbrook Memorial is in the 50th – 75th percentile for falls with severity of injury – we are not meeting the target for this measurement • Patients are having serious injuries from falls

4. Safety Huddle Talk • Staff should talk about: • The top 3 – 4 patients at risk for falling on the Unit • Which patient or patients are the “next fall waiting to happen” • What behaviors make these patients at risk for falling or for being the next fall on the Unit • What interventions are currently in place to prevent falling in these patients / reduce the patient’s risk of falling • Any recommendations that Staff have for additional fall prevention interventions for individual patients

5. Feedback • Formal feedback will be gotten from Staff regarding the Fall Safety Huddles – Look for written survey tools to complete starting the week of 8/15 and 8/22