Each year in the U.S., 37.3 million falls are severe enough to require medical attention, according to the World Health Organization.
“Falls can be a source of serious injuries to patients in an ambulatory setting,” said AMSURG Sr. Director Clinical Risk/Patient Safety Stacy Bennett, BSN, MSPSL, CPPS. “The good news is that a majority of falls are preventable. We want to increase awareness around falls and provide safe, high-quality care to all our patients.”
AMSURG and its ambulatory surgery centers are observing Falls Prevention Awareness Week 2024 from Sept. 23-27. This nationwide observance is organized by the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and the Falls Free Initiative to raise awareness of fall prevention, reduce the risk of falls and help older adults live without fear of falling.
Patients may say they feel fine after surgery; however, sedation medication could increase the risk of falling. Simple precautions, like assisting patients with dressing or standing near them in the room as they dress, can prevent accidents.
A Proactive Approach to Patient Falls Prevention
In July 2024, AMSURG launched Fall Prevention Awareness Month to bring special attention to how our ambulatory surgery centers’ center administrators and staff could lead the charge to prevent patient falls.
Inspired by the campaign, Center Administrator Donna LaCardi and Director of Nursing Charlotte Palushaj designed and wore T-shirts featuring yellow non-skid socks that read, “Please Don’t Fall for Me.”
“Their project was to inform patients [and] increase awareness of falls in a fun and creative way,” Bennett said. “This center has gone 118 days without a fall.”
AMSURG recognized several centers for their dedication to preventing patient falls through a weekly email campaign in July.
Center administrator Beth Barros said all patients who are identified as potentially having an increasing fall risk are given different colored slippers as a unique and confidential identification for staff members.
“The slippers serve as a visual reminder to staff that these patients will require extra attention, care and time following anesthesia,” Barros said.
Barros said the staff has been very cooperative with this new policy.
“They will be excited to hear that due to their hard work, they are being recognized for this achievement,” she said. “Occasionally staff will need to be reminded, but that has become more rare.”
Center Administrator Erin Groff, MSN, BSN, RN, CAPA, said leadership sought out staff feedback about why falls may occur at the centers and then helped everyone implement realistic measures into their everyday practice.
“One of the factors the staff thought was predominant was patients not understanding how anesthesia would make them feel after their procedure. We recognize that our patient population is mostly healthy, independent adults who don’t think they need assistance with things like dressing,” Groff said. “We encourage staff to use language that comes easy to them during patient education, so they don’t feel like they are reading off a script, which makes it easier for them to incorporate the education points into their normal conversation with patients. We have found this also makes patients feel more at ease and comfortable with receiving assistance with tasks like getting dressed post procedure.”
Center Administrator Marie Russell, RN, said maintaining patient safety regarding falls is a priority.
“After encountering patient falls, we knew we had to adjust our process,” Russell said. “Ensuring the patient has access to assistance, is seated while getting dressed and is wearing fall resistant socks has helped decrease the number of falls at our center.”
AMSURG Supports ASCs for Falls Prevention Efforts
To assist our centers in their efforts to prevent falls, AMSURG created a patient falls prevention bundle of educational materials that includes fall risk assessment, post fall huddle debriefs, best practices and center posters.
“During the July fall prevention lunch and learn, we put a call to action for centers to take the ZERO harm pledge,” Bennett said. “We accomplished increased awareness [and] visibility and highlighted the importance of reporting.”
The AMSURG Clinical Support Team celebrates our centers’ dedication to patient care and safety during our observance of Falls Prevention Awareness Week and throughout the year.
“We are extremely proud of all the efforts centers provided surrounding fall prevention and diligence toward patient safety initiatives,” Bennett said.
About AMSURG
AMSURG is an independent leader in ambulatory surgery center services, operating a network of approximately 250 surgery centers nationwide. In partnership with physicians and health systems, the organization delivers high-quality patient care across a diverse spectrum of medical specialties, including gastroenterology, ophthalmology and orthopedics. With a focus on strategic growth and innovation, AMSURG is committed to transforming the future of ambulatory surgery center care and services. To learn more about AMSURG, visit amsurg.com.