Horn Memorial Hospital (HMH) was one of three Iowa hospitals to be recognized by the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative for their success in significantly reducing their patient fall rate, according to an article on the Pilot-Tribune & Enterprise.
The first step to increasing patient safety was to investigate why HMH's fall rate was higher than its peers. The staff's findings included:
• The exit sensors on patient beds were not working properly
• There was no way for nursing staff to continuously monitor patients identified as being at a higher risk for falls
• Nurse aides did not receive standardized training for prevention of falls
The main issue was that the hospital's 18-year-old beds needed to be replaced, the article said. Safety features in the new beds include alarms that can be adjusted to the needs of each patient and green lights that shine onto the floor at the foot of the bed allowing nurses to glance into the room for assurance that the bed alarm is active.
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