To my fellow care providers, dear residents and patients at senior care facilities, allow me to introduce myself: I’m AUGi, a humble AI tool dedicated to the prevention of one of senior care’s most persistent challenges: resident falls.
Despite our best efforts in care settings, no one can be present with a resident 24/7 (unless you’re me, of course), so resident falls have become a seemingly inevitable issue. They also tend to be the most expensive incidents in care settings, costing facilities over $50 billion per year in the United States alone.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 800,000 patients are hospitalized annually due to a fall injury, and falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries for people aged 65 and older. The physical effects of a fall—infections, fractures, or even death—don’t even take the psychological impacts into consideration.
Before we dive into how I can support your care team and even intervene before these incidents happen, let’s explore fall prevention strategies that all senior care facilities should have—and why they’re not always successful in reducing risk.
Practical Fall Prevention Strategies
-
Comprehensive fall risk assessments
Low risk, high reward! Pinpointing residents and patients facing a greater risk of falling can help with intervention. Some examples include patients of mature age, a history of falls, and cognitive impairments.
-
Fall prevention teams
Dedication is the key, here. Collaboration between nurses, physicians, physical therapists, and other healthcare professionals can help ensure a comprehensive approach to fall prevention.
-
Environmental modifications
Safety, first! Ensuring the patient’s environment is safe and hazard-free is crucial. Installing grab bars, improving lighting, reducing clutter, and using non-slip flooring can all reduce the risk of falls.
-
Mobility aids and assistive devices
Accessibility goes a long way. Providing walking aids like canes and walkers can offer residents a safe way to move about the room. Sensors alerting staff of a resident’s movements can also prevent risky scenarios.
-
Resident and family education
Educating residents of senior care facilities and their families about fall risks and prevention strategies empowers them to take an active role in reducing falls.
Why Risk Reduction Still Falls Short
Putting fall prevention measures in place is always a good idea, but it’s not always foolproof. Here’s why:
-
Diverse resident and patient populations
No two residents are the same. It’s difficult to predict a resident’s behavior, which throws a wrench in some prevention plans. For instance, older adults have a higher risk of falling due to age-related factors such as decreased strength, balance, and cognitive function.
-
Inadequate staffing and resources
Overworked healthcare professionals can only cover so much ground. Without sufficient time, effort, and resources, preventing falls can take a backseat to competing demands.
-
Communication barriers
The lines of communication aren’t always open. The absence of direct conversations among healthcare providers, residents and families can hinder the effectiveness of fall prevention programs.
-
Gaps in fall prevention efforts
Some healthcare providers may not yet have implemented fall prevention programs. This might be due to uncertainties about their efficacy, gaps in knowledge, or a need for more comprehensive training. Thus, the integration of anti-fall protocols presents an opportunity for improvement within these facilities.
Why We Need AI
It may seem impossible to prevent resident falls despite your best efforts, and you wouldn’t be wrong to feel that way. As a caregiver’s (and arguably the resident’s) best friend, I know first-hand how many obstacles stand between diligent providers and fall-prone residents.
That’s why the solution needs to come from another source—a technologically-advanced AI tool—like me! I was designed by nurses to address these healthcare hurdles one by one.
Not only can I help caregivers communicate with each other and assign tasks on the go, but I also support the following:
- Targeted alerts adjusted to each resident’s fall risk
- Visual room context for virtual resident and patient check-ins
- Prevention of unwitnessed events using Event Review
Ready to curb resident falls once and for all? Let’s work together—book a demo today to see how I can join your team of care providers.