Nursing

Evidence-based expert: Try the ’stoplight system’ for patients with fall risks

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, September 11, 2008

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This week's expert, Carole Eldridge, DNP, RN, CNAA-BC, discusses a creative means of identifying patients at a high risk for falls.

Q. What is a simple, effective way of communicating to hospital workers whether a patient is at a high risk of falling?

A. Patients who are at risk for falling may need to be identified in some way, depending on your hospital's policies. Consider implementing a "stoplight system," which involves posting a picture of a stoplight in a patient's room with either a red, yellow, or green light, with these meanings:

  • A red light means the patient should not be up without assistance and cannot be left unattended when in the bathroom
  • A yellow light means the patient requires a minimum of standby assistance for any activity
  • A green light means the patient may be up without assistance

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