James Wisniewski will present “Safe from Falls” Road Map: Design and Product Strategies in the Toileting Process at the Healthcare Design Conference and Expo on November 15 at 10:50 a.m. in Washington, DC. Research surrounding patient falls shows that approximately 40% of falls that result in serious patient harm or death involve toileting. The Minnesota Hospital Association, consistently ranked among the top states in the nation for patient safety and quality of care, commissioned MGA&D to conduct research and produce a guideline that would recommend environmental solutions that would contribute to minimized patient falls.
MGA&D conducted site visits of MHA member facilities, researched available literature and interviewed clinical staff to better understand the environmental factors that contributed to patient falls. The final report, included in MHA’s “Safe From Falls” guidelines, offers recommendations and creative design and product solutions to address issues in toileting-related falls and to prevent future falls. The recommendations were divided into four construction categories: retrofit, minor renovation, major (gut) renovation and new construction. This session will summarize the research, analysis, and recommendations of that study.