Preventing Patient Falls

Patient falls continue to be a serious concern within hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care facilities. When caring for elderly and disabled patients, a fall prevention program is vital. This authoritative and practical book outlines the process for developing and maintaining a fall prevention program in health care institutions. Morse presents over two decades of research as well as the highly acclaimed Morse Fall Scale, which has been adopted by the VA Hospital System and numerous hospitals around the United States. This extensively revised edition serves the dual purpose of providing practical, "how-to" guidelines as well as presenting cutting-edge research on patient falls. The first section on clinical application discusses the complete process of implementing a fall prevention program using the Morse Fall Scale. The research section of the book explains how the scale works, and provides information on evaluating the incidence, frequency, and severity of falls. Highlights of this book: Thoroughly revised with three new chapters, a new research section, and a revised appendix Contains key clinical applications, such as monitoring falls, predicting physiologically anticipated falls, and conducting a fall assessment Research section contains appendices on determining the level of fall risk, suggested methods for testing the Morse Fall Scale, and fall rates This book contains all the essentials needed to implement and coordinate a fall prevention program. A definite must-read for nurse and hospital administrators, nurse and clinical managers, and risk managers.