Fall Prevention for the Elderly: Educational Program

Introductory Paragraph

Falls are the primary cause of physical injuries and lethal outcomes among older adults (Kruschke & Butcher, 2017);
Physical disabilities are commonly associated with old age and lead to the increasing number of falls;
The risk management concerning falls among the elderly is frequently underestimated or completely neglected in a large number of hospitals;
Thesis statement: it is necessary to propose an effective educational program for the employees of the ( ) hospital to decrease the potential risks of falls among the elderly and reduce the number of consequent injuries.

The comprehensive risk management plan concerning falls among the elderly includes more than 30 regulations; nevertheless, most hospitals lack specific guidelines regarding the subject (Cuhna, Baixinho & Henriques, 2019);
The design of the plan should also meet the contemporary requirements of the state and federal standards;
The primary objective of the ( ) hospital and health care organizations, in general, is to provide sufficient medical services to alleviate the distressing symptoms of the patients and mitigate consequent risks to their health;
Therefore, minimizing the risks of falls among the elderly is the legal responsibility of the organization and should be prioritized in the medical care of older adults.

The primary features of a comprehensive risk management plan include team formation; communication; leadership, monitoring, and mutual support (Cuhna et al. 2019);
- The first aspect concerns the interaction between the employees and the patients and includes the assessment of unsafe behaviors, explanation of risks, and strategies to minimize the risks of falls (Cuhna et al. 2019);
- Communication refers to social interaction within the team and might greatly enhance the productivity of employees;
- Leadership regards effective supervisory measures and comprehensive directions;
- Monitoring concerns the observation and analysis of the behavior of the patients and verification of safety measures via contemporary devices;
- Mutual support refers to the regular meetings of the team and positive reinforcement.
Having acknowledged the significance of the aforementioned characteristics and operations, it is essential to educate the employees of the organization concerning the risk management plan;
Therefore, the supervisors need to conduct a survey concerning the awareness of the employees regarding the subject and hold meetings, seminars, and workshops to improve the qualification of the team members;
Furthermore, if the opportunity arises, the hospital needs to innovate the monitoring equipment to meet the contemporary standards of medical care for the elderly.

The primary challenges include the lack of necessary competencies among the employees of the hospital and the absence of modern equipment;
The former could be solved by the implementation of the current risk management plan including the education of the staff; the latter might be achieved with innovative management directions and assistance from the state and community.

The current plan provides general guidelines for the risk management program concerning falls among the elderly and might present useful insights into the subject for the employees of the ( ) hospital;
The implementation of the plan might improve the quality of medical care and increase the amount of attention to the problems of the elderly;
Lastly, the success of the current plan vastly depends on the management of the organization and its ability to educate and motivate the employees.

Cuhna, L., F., C., Baixinho, C., L., & Henriques, M. A. (2019). Preventing falls in hospitalized elderly: design and validation of a team intervention. Revista Da Escola de Enfermagem Da Usp, 53, 3479. Web.

Kruschke, C., & Butcher, H. K. (2017). Evidence-based practice guideline: Fall prevention for older adults. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 43(11), 15-21. Web.