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Background: Many hospital quality indicators, including falls, worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 may be at risk for falling due to the disease itself, patient characteristics, or aspects of care delivery. Purpose: To describe and explore falls in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Methods: We pooled data from 107 hospitalized adult patients who fell between March 2020 and April 2021. Patients who fell had a current, pending, or recent diagnosis of COVID-19. We analyzed patient characteristics, fall circumstances, and patient and organizational contributing factors using frequencies, the chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test. Results: Patient contributing factors included patients' lack of safety awareness, impaired physical function, and respiratory concerns. Organizational contributing factors related to staff and the isolation environment. Conclusions: Recommendations for managing fall risk in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 include frequent reassessment of risk, consideration of respiratory function as a risk factor, ongoing patient education, assisted mobility, and adequate staff training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consequences of falls among the elderly are often devastating and include injury, increased morbidity and mortality, loss of independence, fear, decreased activity level, additional treatment expenses and decreased quality of life An Evidence-Based Program to Prevent Patient Falls was implemented which instituted Fall Clinics, staffed by interdisciplinary teams. The goals of these Fall Clinics were to assess severity of fall risk, establish the etiology of falls and develop a fall specific plan of care. The purpose of this article is to discuss the functional profile of veterans referred to these fall clinics, their fall rates and fall team prevention treatment plan. Over a 2-year period, data from 571 consented clinic patients were obtained. The most notable finding obtained was a 3-fold reduction in falls following the initial Fall Clinic visit when compared to pre-clinic values. These data further supports existing literature regarding the need for multi-dimensional, evidence-based fall prevention interventions in order to address this widespread patient safety issue., This article discusses the functional profile of veterans at high risk for falls, their fall rates and fall prevention treatment plan, summarizing compelling data for evidence-based interventions appropriate to this [...]

Abstract Background Stroke is one of the most disabling and costly impairments of adulthood in the United States. Stroke patients clearly benefit from intensive inpatient care, but due to the high cost, there is considerable interest in implementing interventions to reduce hospital lengths of stay. Early discharge rehabilitation programs require coordinated, well-organized home-based rehabilitation, yet lack of sufficient information about the home setting impedes successful rehabilitation. This trial examines a multifaceted telerehabilitation (TR) intervention that uses telehealth technology to simultaneously evaluate the home environment, assess the patient's mobility skills, initiate rehabilitative treatment, prescribe exercises tailored for stroke patients and provide periodic goal oriented reassessment, feedback and encouragement. Methods We describe an ongoing Phase II, 2-arm, 3-site randomized controlled trial (RCT) that determines primarily the effect of TR on physical function and secondarily the effect on disability, falls-related self-efficacy, and patient satisfaction. Fifty participants with a diagnosis of ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: (a) TR; or (b) Usual Care. The TR intervention uses a combination of three videotaped visits and five telephone calls, an in-home messaging device, and additional telephonic contact as needed over a 3-month study period, to provide a progressive rehabilitative intervention with a treatment goal of safe functional mobility of the individual within an accessible home environment. Dependent variables will be measured at baseline, 3-, and 6-months and analyzed with a linear mixed-effects model across all time points. Discussion For patients recovering from stroke, the use of TR to provide home assessments and follow-up training in prescribed equipment has the potential to effectively supplement existing home health services, assist transition to home and increase efficiency. This may be particularly relevant when patients live in remote locations, as is the case for many veterans. Trial Registration Clinical Trials.gov Identifier: NCT00384748