Patient falls are the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma for seniors, and the risk of serious injury from falls increases with age. According to OASIS data, in 2012, 1.4 percent of home health patients were hospitalized due to an injury caused by a fall.

Many of the cutting-edge tools and resources provided through the VNAA Blueprint links below come from experts in physical therapy and occupational health, and have been tested and adapted for consistent, structured use by home health organizations.

How to use these resources:

Start with the training program, Falls Risk Assessment - VNAA Best Practice, which offers an overview of resources available through the Falls Risk Assessment and Interventions best practice topic area.

The training program learning objectives are as follows:

• Identify two reasons to implement a falls risk program.

• Identify three risk factors for patients for falls.
• Describe three falls risk or intervention tools to use in home health.