UPRITE Fall Prevention Education Program in our Care Communities

September 23 is Fall Prevention Awareness Day!

Learn more about our fall prevention efforts in our care communities.

Every community that serves the older population is looking for ways to reduce falls. There is no one concrete way to prevent falls. “Knowing this, we take special precaution to keep our residents as safe as possible while they are in our care, and one way we do that is through the UPRITE Fall Prevention Education Program,” says Ginny Burke, director of clinical education and quality.

The main focus on the UPRITE Fall Prevention Education is that everyone in the community, from nursing to housekeeping to maintenance, can help prevent falls. In fact, UPRITE stands for YoU help Prevent Resident Incidents with Team Effort!

“All team members who work in the neighborhoods in our skilled nursing and personal care communities know the residents just as well as a nurse does, so we have trained different disciplines to be looking, watching, and pointing out any potential fall risks,” says Ginny.

“UPRITE really focuses on the importance of being aware of what’s going on around you. If a team member is passing through a neighborhood and notices someone is trying to get up alone, they assist them or get a team member that can. If they notice a call light is on, they will pop their head in – a resident may need something that is just out of reach such as the television remote or a tissue. It’s the little things like this that can prevent bigger things from happening,” Ginny says.

In our care communities, we have a larger number of residents who are wheelchair bound, or who use walkers to get around. Because the mobility of some of our residents is limited, they often experience weakened legs and muscles due to inactivity. Ginny says, “In order to assist those residents who have limited mobility, we encourage our team members to frequently ask if there is anything the resident needs, even if they have just helped them or are just checking in. We have found that rounding consistently has improved resident satisfaction and safety.”

Interested in learning more about fall prevention? Check out this article for stats and other facts about fall prevention.