Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Reducing Patient Falls By Realigning Nursing Hours Per Patient Days, Hermes Vargas

Student Scholarly Projects

Patient falls are the “second leading cause of unintentional injury death” (World Health Organization [WHO] (2018), para. 3) and increase healthcare costs by an estimated $13,806 per fall (Walsh et al., 2018). These fall-related costs translate to a potential savings of approximately $400,374 to the selected organization since the unit chosen for the practice change project experienced 29 falls in the fiscal year 2019 (C. Hernandez, personal communication, September 23, 2019).

The PICOT question that guided this project was: In a medical/surgical inpatient population in acute care (P) how does realigning the Nursing Hours per Patient Days (NHPPD) (I) compared …

Reducing Patient Falls Through Purposeful Hourly Rounding, Amanda Savage

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Falls significantly affect patients, resulting in temporary or permanent harm, even death. In a large acute care facility, patient falls increased from 444 in 2016 to 556 falls in 2019.

PICOT: In an adult inpatient hospital setting, does purposeful hourly rounding (PHR), compared to no rounding, reduce patient falls over a period of 30 days during the same time period from the previous year?

Evidence: Of the 360 articles reviewed, 12 articles, varying from evidence levels two (1), level three (4), and level five (7), supported PHR as effective in reducing harm from falls in adult …

Preventing Falls In Long-Term Care Using Patient-Centered Fall Interventions, Angela Blakley

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: The practice problem identified within the Community Living Center included continuous falls, despite using current fall prevention strategies and provider-driven interventions. Baseline data reflected a fall rate of 4.2 in the long-term care areas despite improving the fall prevention program.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was: In older adult residents (P), what is the effect of a standing operating procedure (SOP) using patient-centered interventions (I) compared to physician-driven fall interventions (C) on decreasing falls and falls with injuries (O) within one month (T)?

Evidence: In twelve high-quality articles that fit the eligibility criteria and …

Decreasing Readmissions In Medically Complex Children, Colleen Bartlett

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: There was a report of an existing practice problem of increased 30-day readmission rates in medically complex children at an outpatient clinic within an extensive hospital system. Hospital readmissions can cause clinical, social, and financial burdens to the patients and their families and thus reflected a need for interventions to reduce readmissions.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this change project: In medically complex pediatric patients ages 0-17, what is the effect of a discharge intervention bundle in reducing all-cause 30-day hospital readmissions compared to current practice within an 8-week timeframe?

Evidence: The literature revealed 18 …

Implementing Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injury (Hapi) Prevention Program, Marisa Raynaldo

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injury (HAPI) is a serious problem in patient care and has deleterious implications for the patient and the healthcare system. A 530-bed acute care hospital in the Rio Grande Valley identified a similar challenge and implemented a HAPI preventive program.

PICOT: This evidence-based practice (EBP) project was guided by the following PICOT question: In the Intensive Care Unit/Medical Intensive Care Unit (ICU/MICU) patients aged 18 and older, does a pressure preventive bundle, compared to routine pressure injury care, reduce the incidence of pressure injury, within 21 days?

Evidence: The reviewed literature supported evidence of effective use …

A Policy Change To Reduce Hospital-Acquired Clostridium Difficile Infection Rates: A Quality Improvement Project, Nia Hidalgo

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: At a small community facility in Los Angeles County, there was a reporting rate of hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile cases that was higher than both state and national benchmarks.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was: In acute care patients aged 18-90, does not retesting for CDI for at least seven days compared to retesting in less than seven days reduce the incidence of false positive CDI tests during the first seven days of the hospital stay?

Evidence: The evidence demonstrates that if patients are tested initially for Clostridium difficile and then retested seven days after, the …

Occupational Therapy Student Pro Bono Clinic: Creating A Sustainable Model, Shane Tong

Student Capstone Papers

The purpose of this project was to create a model for a sustainable student pro bono clinic with a clear mission and vision that aligned with that of the occupational therapy (OT) profession. This project consisted of interviewing founding members of similar programs, conducting an indirect needs assessment, and performing a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of current pro bono clinic operations at the University of St. Augustine College for Health Sciences (USAHS). These results, combined with input from key stakeholders, were used to develop a strategic plan to support the development of future pro bono clinics by …