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Full-Text Articles in Geriatric Nursing
Reducing Care Companion Utilization In Medical-Surgical And Telemetry Units, Mary Jane B. Sagabaen
Reducing Care Companion Utilization In Medical-Surgical And Telemetry Units, Mary Jane B. Sagabaen
Master's Projects and Capstones
Abstract
Problem: The facility highly utilized sitters or care companions, negatively impacting the staffing plan, budget, and productivity. An average of 56 hours of care companions were used daily. This greatly exceeded the budget of 33 hours a day. Reassigning Patient Care Technicians (PCT) as care companions resulted in inadequate nurse support for patient care and increased cost for additional staffing needs. Despite this, the fall rate remained higher than the target.
Context: The patient population is mainly 65 years old and above, sometimes with confusion, dementia, delirium, and at high risk for falls and elopement. The culture included promptly …