A Taste of Embrace The following is an excerpted article from the newest issue of Embrace magazine. MDS 3.0: Taking an In-Depth Look at Falls and Injuries By Pam West VP of Clinical and Regulatory Compliance Wound Care Certified Nurse Falls are a serious problem in long-term care, with 45 to 70 percent of the 1.7 million U.S. nursing home residents falling each year. Of these residents, 30 to 40 percent will fall two or more times and 11 percent will experience a serious injury from the fall.1,2 What’s new in MDS 3.0? MDS 3.0 takes a more in-depth look at falls and injuries than MDS 2.0 did. The new MDS will review fall history under Section J and identify the number of falls a resident has had in the past six months as well as the severity of any injuries from the falls. MDS 3.0 also expands Section G0300 with input from physical therapists and other fall experts, who suggested adding balance items designed to guide in identifying parts of gait and transition that relate to fall risk. Falls are a leading cause of injury, morbidity and mortality in nursing home residents. They can result in serious injury, especially hip fractures. A previous fall is one of the most important predictors of risk for future falls, and residents who have a history of falls can develop a fear of falling that may limit their activity and negatively impact quality of life.3 According to the MDS 3.0, a fall is an "unintentional change in position coming to rest on the ground, floor, or next lower surface i.e., bed, chair, or bedside mat). The fall may be witnessed, reported by the resident or an observer or identified when a resident is found on the floor or ground. Falls include any fall, no matter whether it occurred at home, while out in the community, in an acute hospital or a nursing home. Falls are not a result of an overwhelming external force (e.g., a resident pushes another resident). An intercepted fall occurs when the resident would have fallen if he or she had not caught him/herself or had not been intercepted by another person – this is still considered a fall."3 Want to read more? Simply subscribe to Embrace! Subscriptions are complimentary for ProMed customers and signing up is a snap – just visit www.embracethemagazine.com/subscribe. Is Your Facility Winning the Fight Against the Flu? ProMed's Flu Prevention Strategies and Solutions brochure contains detailed guidance for halting the spread of flu in your facility as well as information on products that can help you break the chain of infection. We invite you to visit www.promedsupply.com/products to view the brochure and learn more about ProMed's infection prevention products. Many of these products are available at special pricing and in limited quantities, so act now! Fall and Safety Management ProMed’s Fall and Safety Management products can play a valuable role in your comprehensive fall prevention strategy. We invite you to click here to view our full offering of alarms, pads, bed rails and restraints. Here are a few popular Fall and Safety Management products that you might like: Wireless Alarm Pendant Half-Size Bed Rail Pads Full-Size Bed Rail Pads Bedside Safety Mats Product pricing is only visible to registered promedsupply.com customers. If you are not yet registered, your Customer Care Professional will be happy to get you set up. Just give us a call at (800) 648-5190. Be sure to check out the most recent issue of Embrace magazine, which is dedicated to resident safety and fall prevention! You can learn more and subscribe at www.embracethemagazine.com.