Development, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive fall risk program.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Patient safety research
• Nursing informatics

Background:

• Patient falls are a significant safety concern in healthcare settings.
• Effective fall-risk assessment and intervention are crucial for preventing patient injuries.
• Existing tools may lack integration with actionable interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement the I'M SAFE (Safety Management Fall Evaluation) tool.
• To link the I'M SAFE tool to a tiered-intervention falls prevention program.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of this integrated approach in reducing patient falls.

Main Methods:

• Integrated a fall-risk evaluation tool into electronic nurse documentation.
• Linked specific nursing interventions to identified fall risks.
• Implemented the I'M SAFE tool and associated program across healthcare facilities.

Main Results:

• Achieved a statistically significant decline in intrinsic patient fall rates (from 0.67 to 0.51 falls/1,000 patient days).
• Sustained reduction in fall rates for two years post-implementation.
• Demonstrated program effectiveness across two distinct healthcare facilities.

Conclusions:

• The I'M SAFE tool effectively identifies patients at elevated risk of falling.
• Linking the tool to a multidisciplinary fall prevention program reduces preventable falls.
• The positive impact on patient fall reduction is durable and transferable across settings.