{"id":3606,"date":"2018-04-24T11:30:25","date_gmt":"2018-04-24T16:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/innovativehomecare.com\/?p=3606"},"modified":"2020-12-07T16:20:24","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T22:20:24","slug":"top-5-tips-for-preventing-falls-for-seniors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/top-5-tips-for-preventing-falls-for-seniors\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 Tips for Preventing Falls for Seniors"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Thousands of patients struggle with the same problem \u2014 mobility!<\/strong> According to the research, there are 700,000 and 1,000,000 people in the US fall in the hospital<\/a> each year. A fall can result in lacerations, fractures, internal bleeding, and can lead to a longer hospital stay. But it\u2019s estimated that one-third of falls can be prevented. Nursing professional Vince Baiera shares his experiences in helping older people avoid having those falls.\u00a0<\/p>

Every person will ultimately face challenges in his or her mobility. It\u2019s important to realize that falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries each year in seniors.<\/p>

Our priority as healthcare providers is always patient safety. Advocating for the patient is necessary for all aspects of care, including patient transfer. By implementing small changes, we can help avoid hundreds of thousands of falls each year and save money in healthcare costs.<\/p>

Here are five simple tips you can take to reduce the likelihood of a patient falling.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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1. Take your time<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

As you hustle all day to provide great care, it\u2019s easy to be in a hurry to stay on track. Rushing patients to their feet can lead to hypotension and cause the patients to become light-headed if they get up too quickly. First and foremost, take your time. Allow the patients time to compose themselves after rising from a lying or sitting position. Assess the environment around you with a clear plan of what they need, and the steps you will take to accomplish the transfer. Explain the plan to the seniors and gauge their cooperation and ability. Transfer the patient with care to prevent accidents.<\/p>

2. Exercise regularly<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

It\u2019s important as healthcare professionals that we\u2019re capable of performing the daily tasks of the unit. It\u2019s part of the job. To help with this, it\u2019s good to schedule at least three days a week of 30\u201360 minutes of exercise. Weights, cardio, yoga, pilates, Zumba, and even stretching can be good exercise. The key is scheduling the days into the time that you dedicate to spend on yourself. Be committed (don\u2019t just do it when it\u2019s convenient) to work out so you will be able to provide optimal patient care. If nothing else, 20 minutes of walking each day at lunch can help.<\/p>

3. Ask for help<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

Most of us know how to do this, but it\u2019s easy to \u201cgo for it\u201d when the unit is crazy and no one\u2019s around to help. You\u2019re in a hurry and you think, \u201cOK, I can do this.\u201d I would do this at times because as a bigger guy, physically, I could get away with it. There were a few times this almost cost me and the patient a fall. If you aren\u2019t able to help the patient transfer by yourself, don\u2019t change it.<\/p>

4. Make the room less hazardous<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

Take a minute to double-check your patient and the immediate area around him or her before attempting to transfer him or her. Cords, wires, and tubes are easy to spot. It\u2019s the leg of a chair or water spills that can trip you up (literally and figuratively) and cause a fall. Take your time, assess the area, and perform a safe transfer.<\/p>

5. Talk to your patient<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

We all know how to do this, but making sure your patient is clear on how they can help transfer is vital. Speaking slowly, clearly, respectfully, and loud enough will help your patient give optimal assistance. A simple way to assess their understanding is to ask them to repeat your directions.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Fear of falling<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>

Many people who fall\u2014even if they\u2019re not injured\u2014develop a fear of falling. This fear may cause them to limit their activities, which leads to less mobility and loss of physical fitness, and in turn, increases their actual risk of falling. The increased fear is common and should not be looked down upon\u2014it\u2019s normal!\u00a0<\/p>

Encourage your patients to ask for help<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>

Pride is a powerful thing, especially in today\u2019s older population. Encourage your patients to wait for you and ask for help if they feel uncomfortable at all. It\u2019s important to remind them that you want to help them and that you\u2019d prefer to help them. Empathy is the key here to reinforce your willingness to help them so they will ask for help when they need it.<\/p>

Source:\u00a0www.crisisprevention.com<\/a><\/p>

We look forward to assisting you at home soon. Please call\u00a0630-225-0100<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0set an appointment<\/a> for free home care needs assessment.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thousands of patients struggle with the same problem \u2014 mobility! According to the research, there are 700,000 and 1,000,000 people in the US fall in the hospital each year. A fall can result in lacerations, fractures, internal bleeding, and can lead to a longer hospital stay. But it\u2019s estimated that one-third of falls can be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elderly-care"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3606"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12062,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3606\/revisions\/12062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}