Preventing Falls Among Behavioral Health Patients.

Background: Inpatient falls are among the most common hospital incidents reported. Fall-related injuries have significant implications for patients, staff, and organizations. Adult behavioral health inpatients are responsible for higher rates of injurious falls and challenge traditional fall prevention methods.

Achieving restraint-free on an inpatient behavioral health unit.

Restraint use in the treatment of mental illness has long been a controversial practice. Regulatory agencies, licensing organizations, and professional and advocacy groups have called for reduction of restraint use. Responding to this call for action, the leadership team of a behavioral health unit in a private, nonprofit community hospital evaluated reducing restraint use.