Trillium Woods Receives Quality Award for Falls Prevention Program
Falls are preventable but remain one of the most significant health risks seniors face, and that’s why we developed a Falls Prevention Initiative at Trillium Woods that makes falls management a community responsibility – reducing falls by 32 percent.
Promoting residents’ health is a top priority at Trillium Woods and it was all hands on deck as we worked across departments to develop and implement a program that we all felt proud of. The goal was to increase awareness of fall prevention, and monitor and reduce the number of falls experienced by residents in our community. After a year of successful implementation, we’re thrilled to announce that this initiative has been honored with a Stars Among Us Award in the “Quality” category from LeadingAge Minnesota!
Cari Brastad, RN, Trillium Woods’ Health & Wellness Navigator, played a key role in implementing the program. Every resident has access to Cari, and she meets with them to identify their health and wellness goals, and coordinate services to prevent further falls or re-hospitalizations such as physical and occupational therapy, home health services, fitness center referrals and more.
Our team also organized monthly falls-related informational programs, events and challenges to educate and engage with residents. The departments worked together to plan at least one event or program per month to keep fall awareness at the forefront of everyone’s mind – including a Balance Challenge throughout the month of March 2019, where residents received a scorecard and were awarded points for attending balance fitness classes and other fitness, falls and balance-related sessions.
“Our falls initiative is focused on collaboration to promote a healthy lifestyle that prevents falls. We work to enhance the daily lifestyle of residents living in a community setting and address the ongoing transitions of care as needed,” Cari said.
Cari recently presented an overview of Trillium Woods’ award-winning Falls Prevention Initiative at the LeadingAge Minnesota Institute to leaders from senior living communities across the state – sharing this “total team” approach with other Minnesota communities.
“By focusing on proactive, preventative ways to promote a healthy lifestyle rather than chasing wellness relatively after the fact,” Cari said. “Our residents and their families experience a safe environment and an enhanced level of peace of mind.”
For more information about Trillium Woods’ Health & Wellness Navigator program, visit https://www.trilliumwoodslcs.com/community-life/navigator/
