Description of Toolkit

Patient Falls are unplanned events in which the patient comes to rest on the ground or lower surface.  These tools are offered as guidance and are designed to assist you with creating an institutional awareness and response to patient falls - education, prevention, assessment, reassessment, intervention, and continuous improvement.  The tools are a beginning rather than an end, dynamic rather than static, and they should be viewed as strategic and educational assets rather than rules and regulations.

The Patient Falls Reduction Toolkit is designed to address four facets of a credible Patient Fall Reduction program:

• Assessment and re-assessment of all patients for fall risk
• Interventions to prevent falls
• Education of the patient and family
• Data collection for continuous program improvement

The toolkit includes:

• Executive Summary
• Patient Fall Policy
• Patient at Risk for Falls Protocol
• Patient Falls Focused Review and Database
• Patient and Family Teaching: Fall Prevention
• Appendix 

Description of Tools

Executive Summary

Patient Fall Policy
This section includes the following: Purpose, Standard Definitions, Healthcare Team Responsibilities, Patient Care Management, Risk Assessment Tools, and Fall Prevention Interventions Guidelines.

Patient at Risk for Falls Protocol
Useful for demonstrating multidisciplinary collaboration.

Patient Falls Focused Review and Database

This tool is intended as a comprehensive database for obtaining complete information.  Designed for multidisciplinary involvement.

Patient and Family Teaching: Fall Prevention
Didactic approach to patient/family teaching, promoting staff consistency in educating both the patient and family.

Appendix
Provides salient features for using data to drive continuous performance improvement activities.