Assessing the incidence of bed falls and injuries following the introduction of the Empresa FloorBed
How the Empresa FloorBed from Accora compared to a low bed for fall-risk residents across three long-term care communities.
Overview
As in any elderly care facility, bed falls represent a significant risk for residents and can result in injuries, loss of confidence/independence, and of course there’s also the economic impact of falls on the facility itself to consider.
With a view to improving proactive prevention of bed falls a study in three nursing homes belonging to the Masonic Villages organisation was conducted. The aim of which was to observe whether residents with a risk of falling from the bed or who had fallen in the last 3 months would benefit from the capabilities of the Empresa FloorBed in preventing future falls.
Approach
The study included two phases to provide a benchmark and to measure changes.
Phase one: Eligible high-risk residents were identified and observed over a 3-month period to determine a baseline level of falls and fall-related injuries. In this phase, the residents continued to use the standard care bed used across all three facilities which has a mattress platform range of 178 mm (17.8 cm) to 762 mm (76.2 cm).
Phase two: The Empresa, an ultra-low ‘floor’ bed with a minimum height of 100 mm (10 cm) rising to 800 mm (80 cm) was implemented. In addition to comfort adjustments, the Empresa includes BodyMove® autoregression on the mattress platform to reduce shear and friction over areas supporting body weight that are vulnerable to pressure injury.
Both beds have user-accessible functionality to promote independence and have safety features, such as movement locks, to prevent unintentional manoeuvres.
For phase two, 20 Empresa FloorBeds and floor mats were provided along with in-service training by Accora.
Outcome
20 residents who met the inclusion criteria completed the 12-week evaluation of phase one and between 9 and 12 weeks in phase two. Over the two phases, it was found that implementing the Empresa FloorBed not only reduced the number of falls from the bed for the included individuals but also had an impact on the frequency of non-bed falls.
In phase one, 58 separate falls were recorded between the 20 residents. Of these, 26 (45%) were falls from the bed and 32 (55%) were instances in which falls were not from the bed.
In phase two, 26 falls were recorded, 6 of which were bed falls (23%) and 20 of which (77%) were not falls from the bed. This showed a bed fall reduction of 77% and an overall fall reduction of 55%.
In terms of injuries, 6 injurious falls were reported in phase one and only two were reported in phase two. Both injurious falls in phase two were non-bed falls. This shows a reduction of 67% in injurious falls and a 100% reduction in injurious bed falls.
Conclusion
The introduction of Accora’s FloorBed technology was associated with a significant reduction in the number of falls from the bed and, importantly, the severity of injury. As a result of this evaluation, and positive staff feedback, the Empresa FloorBed was adopted as the preferred bed for residents at high risk of bed falls across all nursing facilities in the organisation.
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Configura Chairs
Our range of specialist riser recliner chairs, are fully adjustable to cater for differing size, pressure care and postural management needs.
Empresa®
The Empresa combines everything you need, in a single bed. Designed to meet the diverse demands of clinical care, staff and resident safety, with a robust and stylish design.
