Limiting restraints, increasing supportive measures fosters falls prevention
Monday January 14, 2008 -- Deron Hamel
By limiting psychotropic medications, promoting physiotherapy programs and minimizing restraints, Woodland Villa in Long Sault has kept its number of resident falls low while providing residents with high quality of life.

A report from Statistics Canada states that falls account for two-thirds of injuries which limit mobility and activities for Canadians. Nearly 14,000 Canadians die as the result of falls every year.

Because a fall resulting in injury can set in motion a steady decrease in the health of a resident, preventing falls is a major issue in the long-term care sector.

According to Safer Healthcare Now, a national campaign aimed at creating safe environments throughout all health-care sectors, about 50 per cent of residents in long-term care homes fall each year.

Taking these figures into consideration, long-term care homes are focusing more than ever on reducing the number of resident falls.

When residents first move into Woodland Villa they are gauged for falling risk by staff members using OMNI’s Fall Risk Assessment.

Like at OMNI’s other 15 long-term care homes, this assessment is given on an ongoing basis to help reduce the risk of falling.

Once assessed, residents most at risk of falling are documented, allowing caregivers to know who needs special attention.

An important step to reducing the risk of falls, notes charge nurse Janna Goulding, is to be aware of lighting in the home, which can cause poor judgment and confusion.

“Even the shine on the floor, the residents can look at it differently because of visual impairment,” she says.

To mitigate this risk, Goulding says staff members need to pay close attention to which residents may be most susceptible to confusion caused by lighting or glare from the floor.

One of the big changes in falls prevention best practices Goulding says she has seen during her time in long-term care has been the reduction of restraints.

In the past, restraints were commonly used by long-term care providers to help prevent falls. But since restraints limit mobility, they encroach on quality of life. In recent years the use of restraints — such as bed rails and seat belts — has been declining across the long-term care sector.

By utilizing supportive measures, Woodland Villa and other OMNI homes now only use restraints when they are absolutely necessary and with the permission of the resident or their family.