Senior Safety and Fall Prevention

Half of the trauma admissions at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hosptial Fort Worth involve falls.

"And we did a little bit of research saying what makes people fall. Things that make them fall are the amount of medications that they have, if they have cords on the floor, if their rooms are crowded, if they can't see properly," said Mary Ann Contreras, RN. "So we decided to do a multi-disciplinary approach to fall prevention. So we gathered a group of medical professionals together. Pharmacists, Physical Therapy folks, Exercise people, Nurses to come in and Engineering folks to come into the house and take a look at it."

The result was a screening test used to determine if a patient was at risk of losing their balance. The test evaluates strength, flexibility, sensation, and visual vestibular interaction. Aftwerard, they are educated on home safety issues, and exercise.

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