Fall Prevention System
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In 2015 the cost of fatal and non-fatal falls in the US was approximately $50 billion – and since falls disproportionally impact older adults, it is a particularly important issue for VA to address.
As a result, we have been developing innovative ways to prevent falls and their devastating consequences. The National Center for Collaborative Healthcare Innovation (NCCHI) is collaborating with a medical company on an exciting project that utilizes their smart integrated sock sensor system to alert nurses when a fall-risk patient attempts to get out of bed.
Origin:
January 2020, Palo Alto VA Medical Center (Palo Alto, California)
Adoptions:
1 successful, 4 in-progress
Partners:
Recent Updates
Overview
The problem
Prevention of falls in the ho ... Falls among hospital inpatients are common, generally ranging from 2.3 to 7 falls per 1,000 patient-days.1-4 Approximately 30% of inpatient falls result in injury, with 4% to 6% resulting in serious injury.5, 6 These serious fall-related injuries can include fractures, subdural hematomas, excessive bleeding, and even death.
Prevention of falls in the hospital setting is therefore an important patient safety and public health issue. See more
Links
- World Health Organization description of falls as the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide. WHO Falls Fact Sheet
- Lessons From the Field Inpatient Falls: Lessons From the Field
The solution
Among these technologies, NCCHI is collaborating with a medical company on an exciting project that utilizes its smart integrated sock sensor sy ... NCCHI is working to assess, integrate, and quantify novel fall prevention technology. Specifically, a system validated for our Veteran population, VA Infrastructure, as well as clinical and operational workflow.
Among these technologies, NCCHI is collaborating with a medical company on an exciting project that utilizes its smart integrated sock sensor system to alert nurses when a fall-risk patient attempts to get out of bed. The design is optimized for efficient clinical response, and nurses are empowered to be in the right place at the right time. See more
Files
- FAQs from sites interested in practice adoption Practice FAQs
Links
- Palarum PuP smart sock fall prevention system. Palarum PuP
The results
Diffusion tracker
Does not include Clinical Resource Hubs (CRH)
Implementation
Timeline
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45 Days
Contracting - Includes the following paperwork to be submitted into FORCE as part of the contract package. Once package in submitted into FORCE, a minimum of 45 days is required for contract to be awarded.(Required contracting paperwork) Market research, Performance Work Statement (PWS) and/or Statement of Work (SOW), PD - Product Description, VA6500.6 App A, Salient characteristics, Contract bid Questionnaire, CGE, SEWP Quote, 2237 cut for funding, BTT\ARM proof of approval, VA 6500 Security checklist -
45 days
Survey of wards requiring fall prevention system and installation.Once surveyed and all beds are identified, vendor will required 2 weeks for equipment order and another 2 weeks for equipment installation. -
30 days
Approximately 1 month of on boarding staff and training to use the fall prevention system.
Departments
- Nursing services
- Biomed
- Information technology
Core Resources
| Resource type | Resource description |
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PEOPLE |
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Contact
Comment
Comments and replies are disabled for retired innovations and non-VA users.
Email VHAPALNCCHI@va.gov with questions about this innovation.
About
Origin story
Original team
Dr. Thomas Osborne
Director for NCCHI
Paola Suarez, MPH
Data Scientist
David Arreola, MCSE
Technology Integration Analyst
Ilya Vrublevskiy, PMP
Project Manager
Kalyn Essex, MPA
Innovation Specialist
Zach Veigulis, MS
Data Scientist
Thanks to Palo Alto for sharing this! We are in the process of implementing this (waiting on arrival) and appreciate the great support we received from the Palo Alto team in doing so,