Prevention of falls: applying AACN's healthy work environment standards to a fall campaign.

Abstract

Efforts leading to the reduction and elimination of falls within acute and long-term clinical care settings are one of the top priorities of health care organizations nationwide. Falls often lead to serious life-threatening conditions and long-term consequences for our patients, their families, and health systems, while also contributing to astonishing costs for health care facilities. In 2010, the direct medical cost related to falls (adjusted for inflation) was $30 billion, and by the year 2020, the annual direct cost related to falls is expected to be near $54.9 billion. 1 With the 2008 change in payment rule by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), hospitals no longer receive payment for costs required to treating injuries that are acquired during hospitalizations as a result of falling. 2 The latest recommendations from the guidelines for prevention of falls from the Institute of Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI) provide health care organizations with evidence-based, best-practice interventions for the implementation of a successful program to reduce the number of falls. 3 Our unit-based team used many of the interventions and practices identified within the guidelines. Second, by committing and applying the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) healthy work environments standards, our team developed and implemented a unified approach in our strategy to reduce and eliminate falls within our progressive care unit (PCU).