MedicalNurseTraining.com

Author: William Burleson

Our research shows there is a lot of fragmented information available for seniors, their families and caregivers. We are in the final stages of introducing an all in one resource site for all these groups to come together. A virtual library and resource center for these groups is essential. Over 20 million baby boomers now have senior family members living at home. We have received numerous requests from this group and others to put together a site that provides an on line resource for all the communities in this arena.

This new site will offer much of the same information already found at www.MedicalNurseTraining.com and www.SaferFalls.com with many of the additional features listed below.

• Live on-line consultation with experts in the field
• Twitter like apps to communicate with fellow seniors/family’s and caregivers
• New technologies to increase safety, security, and medical efficacy
• Video, Book, Amazon and YouTube library both free and for purchase
• Click on - free education videos
• Community forum’s that allow members to blog and share ideas
• Speak Out chat
• Legal Issues chat and resource center
• Reference links to all approved senior sites and lifestyle resources
• Charitable site contribution and links to valuable resource sites
• Featured sites and senior care products
• Monthly newsletter from the latest research in Geriatrics and other experts
• Phone number and web site directories for seniors and eldercare caregivers
• Senior social networking
• Medical information tailored to important new research
• Valuable savings on our senior coupons link
• Direct linking to AARP

In short you will have it all. We invite you to go to our current sites with your ideas and suggestions. What are your needs? We will be launching soon so your thoughts are welcome!!! We are building this site for you. This is a fun time to be 55 plus and this site will be full of the lifestyle features you suggest. 75 is the new 35 WOW!!!

Some of the current site information includes;

Training for eldercare, senior, acute care, long term care and geriatric caregivers

Training in fall prevention, fall protection, bed safety, home safety and security

Informative blogs on all the issues above

Products that promote home safety, reductions in fatalities, comfort, security, skin integrity and in home and institutional medical integrity.

Links to important sites.

Current devices to avoid hip fractures, reduce falls; minimize the risks of wandering, ambulating seniors and much more.

Some Addition Statistics and Information relevant to our current sites includes;

l  Annually there are approximately 370,000 hip fractures.

l  Falls are the major cause of 40% of nursing home admissions and subsequent costs to families.

l  Per year, of those admitted to a hospital only about 50 % will survive a serious fall.

l  Old age sets in with the first fall, mortality with the second.

l  Falls are the leading cause of accidental death.

l  More than 33% of adults 65 and older fall each year.

l  Of those who fall 20 to 30% suffer severe injuries. 

l  The U. S. life expectancy increased from 75.5 years in 1993 to 77.6 years in 2003.  These changes have resulted in a U. S. population with a greater proportion of older adults who are living with chronic disease, leaving them at great risk for falling and less likely to survive the injuries resulting from a fall.  (CDC, 2005)

l  Research shows that more than a third of all older adults fall each year and 10-20% of falls cause serious injuries such as fractures or head traumas.  (Stevens, 2005)

l  Injury from a fall is the 4th major cause of death in older adults.

l  Costs include hospital and nursing home care, doctors and other professional services, rehabilitation, community services, medical equipment, medications, changes that need to be made to the home and insurance processing.  (CDC, 2005)

l  The cost emotionally and physically to the person who fell and their families is enormous as well. 

l  The faller may need to move in with adult children, adult children may need to take time off of work to care for their parent. 

l  In short, many lives can be forever changed by a severe fall.  The quality of their life may never return to its pre-fall state.

l  Recurrent falls are a common reason for admission of previously independent elderly persons to long-term care institutions. 

l  Fear of falling and the post fall anxiety syndrome are also well recognized as negative consequences of falls. 

The President of Medical Nurse Training, Mr. Devaney is available to speak to the new technologies and education for your program or for home utilization. Medical Nurse Training is the premier portal for training nurses and doctors utilizing a nationally known Geriatric Doctor, the Assistant Director of Nursing at Johns Hopkins and Patrick Devaney who has over 25 years experience lecturing on these topic to tens of thousands of nurses, doctors and healthcare facilities. Anyone who is above the age of 55 or has a relative, who is at risk for falls, is confused or agitated, has Alzheimer’s, or presents elopement risks at home will be very interested in this new material. This information will be invaluable to seniors and their families.

Mr. Devaney’s mother died as the result of an unnecessary hip fracture. This loss could have easily been prevented with one of these new devices or education techniques. Numerous lives have already been saved with these clinically proven devices.

Additionally, we have partnered with the leading manufacturers of these low cost fall prevention technologies to provide these fall products predominately available only through hospitals and nursing homes to the general public at institutional prices.

By going to www.MedicalNurseTraining.com you can get a broad overview of the types of programs we offer to the medical community, families, seniors and review our educational materials. We would welcome a discussion of how your family or your program and listeners/viewers will greatly benefit from this information. This piece will be of interest to most if not all. These medically sound approaches will eventually get attention and will reduce government costs in the Billions of dollars over the next few years. You can also review clinical references on this site. Thank you for reviewing this important material. We look forward to working with you for the appearance on your program, church, school or facility.

THANKS TO ALL OUR CAREGIVER PARTNERS, FAMILY’S AND SENIOR’S

Author:  Wade M. Thomas

The FDA recently updated a document on their website that deals with Hospital Bed Safety on April 5, 2010.  I’ll give the link here at the beginning of the article for you to download and use at your hospital.

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/GeneralHospitalDevicesandSupplies/HospitalBeds/ucm125857.pdf

There are about 2.5 million hospital and nursing home beds in use in the U.S.  From 1985 through 2008, it was reported to the FDA that 803 patients/residents were caught, trapped, entangled, or strangled in beds with rails.  480 people died, 138 had a nonfatal injury and 185 were not injured because the staff intervened.  MOST OF THE PATIENTS WERE FRAIL, ELDERLY OR CONFUSED.

A more detailed look at hospital bed safety can been seen on the FDA website below:

http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/GeneralHospitalDevicesandSupplies/HospitalBeds/default.htm

A lot of hospitals still don’t know about ( or else do know but have decided not to do anything about ) the bed safety issue with their old hospital beds.  There is a test kit available that the FDA suggests facilities use to test their beds with from National Safety Technologies.  You can find the test kit at this address:  http://www.nst-usa.com/Pages/B4000Main.html

Patient Safety

Patients who have problems with memory, sleeping, incontinence, pain, uncontrolled body movement, or who get out of bed and walk unsafely without assistance, must be carefully assessed for the best ways to keep them from harm, such as falling. Assessment by the patient’s health care team will help to determine how best to keep the patient safe. Historically, physical restraints (such as vests, ankle or wrist restraints) were used to try to keep patients safe in health care facilities. In recent years, the health care community has recognized that physically restraining patients can be dangerous. Although not indicated for this use, bed rails are sometimes used as restraints. Regulatory agencies, health care organizations, product manufacturers and advocacy groups encourage hospitals, nursing homes and home care providers to assess patients’ needs and to provide safe care without restraints.

The Benefits and Risks of Bed Rails

Potential benefits of bed rails include:

• Aiding in turning and repositioning within the bed.
• Providing a hand-hold for getting into or out of bed.
• Providing a feeling of comfort and security.
• Reducing the risk of patients falling out of bed when being transported.
• Providing easy access to bed controls and personal care items.

Potential risks of bed rails may include:

• Strangling, suffocating, bodily injury or death when patients or part of their body are caught between rails or between the bed rails and mattress.
• More serious injuries from falls when patients climb over rails.
• Skin bruising, cuts, and scrapes.
• Inducing agitated behavior when bed rails are used as a restraint.
• Feeling isolated or unnecessarily restricted.
• Preventing patients, who are able to get out of bed, from performing routine activities such as going to the bathroom or retrieving something from a closet.

Meeting Patients’ Needs for Safety

Most patients can be in bed safely without bed rails. Consider the following:

• Use beds that can be raised and lowered close to the floor to accommodate both patient and health care worker needs.
• Keep the bed in the lowest position with wheels locked.
• When the patient is at risk of falling out of bed, place mats next to the bed, as long as this does not create a greater risk of accident.
• Use transfer or mobility aids.
• Monitor patients frequently.
• Anticipate the reasons patients get out of bed such as hunger, thirst, going to the bathroom, restlessness and pain; meet these needs by offering food and fluids, scheduling ample toileting, and providing calming interventions and pain relief.

When bed rails are used, perform an on-going assessment of the patient’s physical and mental status; closely monitor high-risk patients. Consider the following:

• Lower one or more sections of the bed rail, such as the foot rail.
• Use a proper size mattress or mattress with raised foam edges to prevent patients from being trapped between the mattress and rail.
• Reduce the gaps between the mattress and side rails.

Which Ways of Reducing Risks are Best?

A process that requires ongoing patient evaluation and monitoring will result in optimizing bed safety. Many patients go through a period of adjustment to become comfortable with new options. Patients and their families should talk to their health care planning team to find out which options are best for them.

Patient or Family Concerns About Bed Rail Use

If patients or family ask about using bed rails, health care providers should:

• Encourage patients or family to talk to their health care planning team to determine whether or not bed rails are indicated.
• Reassure patients and their families that in many cases the patient can sleep safely without bed rails.
• Reassess the need for using bed rails on a frequent, regular basis.

Wade Thomas is a Hospital Falls Consultant to hospitals primarily in the State of Florida and a Nursing Home Falls Consultant for Nursing Homes in the State of Florida.  He works to provide education, training, and fall prevention products that will help any hospital to decrease their fall rates and more importantly, their falls with injuries rates.  He attends the annual USF/VA VISN8 Patient Safety Conference in Clearwater Beach, Florida and also attends the State of Florida annual Florida Health Care Association show for nursing home directors and administrators.  To contact Mr. Thomas for more information on how he or one of his associates can work with your hospital, please email WadeThomas at AOL.com

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