Falls are a leading cause of injury among nursing home residents, and a fall can result in a hip fracture or head injury that permanently changes a resident's health. Facilities are expected to assess each resident's fall risk and put appropriate precautions in place.
Common Failures
- No fall-risk assessment or failure to update the care plan
- Inadequate staff to assist residents with walking and toileting
- Missing bed alarms, rails or non-slip surfaces where appropriate
- Delay in responding to call lights
- Failure to evaluate and treat a resident after a fall
How We Can Help
We examine the resident's assessments, incident reports and staffing records to determine whether the fall was preventable and whether injuries were properly treated afterward.