On Jan. 1, 2021, The Joint Commission (JC) started including a definition for fall events in their Sentinel Event Policy. This information can help staff in all healthcare settings understand whether a fall should be reviewed as a sentinel event and can expand knowledge around falls and the implementation of preventive measures more effectively.
The new definition states:
“Fall event – Fall resulting in any of the following: any fracture; surgery, casting, or traction; required consult/management or comfort care for a neurological (for example, skull fracture, subdural or intracranial hemorrhage) or internal (for example, rib fracture, small liver laceration) injury; or a patient with coagulopathy who receives blood products as a result of the fall; death or permanent harm as a result of injuries sustained from the fall (not from physiologic events causing the fall).”
Posey offers a wide variety of falls prevention products to help keep your patients safe and maintain compliance with The Joint Commission.