Accuracy of bed-exit feature enables staff to respond immediately, reducing risk of resident falls
Sleepsense Reduces Number of Resident Falls at Langley Lodge Care Home within 4 months
Overview
Resident falls are a serious and costly concern for the individual, families, care providers and the healthcare system, but unfortunately a common occurrence at long term care homes. For seniors a fall often leads to ER visits, hospitalization, an extended period of recovery with often poor outcomes. The Seniors’ Falls in Canada Report (Second Report) highlights that seniors who are hospitalized for a fall remain in hospital an average of nine days longer than those hospitalized for any other cause. This discrepancy highlights the disproportionate health care costs of fall-related injuries in comparison to other causes of hospitalization. More worrying is the data that shows the increasing number of deaths in seniors as a result of a fall.
Langley Lodge Care Home, a not-for profit seniors’ home based in BC, Canada like most care providers has made it one of their goals to reduce and prevent falls for their 139 residents. However, efforts to keep their residents fall-free have been especially challenging as the industry experiences staff shortages and burnout. Having used traditional bed alarm pads for years with limited success, Langley Lodge in February 2022 made the decision to purchase Sleepsense, the award-winning bed exit and sleep monitoring device designed by Tochtech Technologies. Langley Lodge invested by installing Sleepsense devices for all 139 beds, ensuring accurate bed-exit alerts were issued to staff when residents got out of bed.
The installation of Sleepsense has been successful in enabling Langley Lodge to reduce the number of resident falls significantly. As an example, pre-Sleepsense installation and post-Sleepsense installation data shows a 120% reduction in the number of falls for one resident. A 94-year-old resident was reported to have had 12 falls between January and August 2022. The resident who poses a high fall risk, is a cause of concern for the staff and her family.
In June 2022, Sleepsense was enabled for the resident’s bed to alert the staff when she got off the bed. The system accurately detected her movements and sent notifications to the staff in real-time. The data showed that the number of falls the resident experienced significantly reduced after the Sleepsense alert was set up. From September to December 2022, the resident had only 3 falls, which represents a 120% reduction in the number of falls for the high fall risk resident. This reduction includes both witnessed and unwitnessed falls.
While Sleepsense has enabled Langley Lodge staff to reduce number of resident falls through its bed exit feature, the vital sleep data provided by the bed sensor has also supported improved care and medication plans that have improved resident sleep quality. A combination of these strategies has made a significant impact in Langley Lodge achieving its goal in fall reduction.
Impact
After using Sleepsense for 4 months at a 139-bed Long Term Care Residents, care staff report:
38% reduction in falls
35% improvement in the residents’ quality of sleep (which positively impacts risk of falls)
Reduction in responsive behaviours
Key Takeaways
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Sleepsense can significantly reduce the number of falls for residents in long-term care homes, especially for residents who are a high falls risk.
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The accuracy of the bed-exit alert enables the staff to respond quickly and provide the necessary support and assistance to residents
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Improvement in residents’ quality of sleep has positively contributed to a reduction in resident falls
