Measure Information Form

Measure Set: Assisted Living Community (ALC)

Set Measure ID: ALC-02

Performance Measure Name: Resident Falls

Description: Number of residents who fall and are transferred to the hospital.

Rationale: The effort to monitor the prevalence of falls at the facility level with transfer to the hospital is very important for protecting the health of facility residents. Studies show that such falls can leave up to 50%–65% of residents with fears that impact both their functional abilities and social activities (Magaziner et al., 1997). Identifying falls risk factors can help facilities reduce incidence of falls among their residents through clinical and non-clinical practices (Arling et al., 2014). Studies have shown that falls account for 10% of visits to the emergency department and six percent of urgent hospitalizations among elderly people (Tinetti, 2003).

Type Of Measure: Outcome

Improvement Noted As: Decrease in the rate

Risk Adjustment: No.

Data Collection Approach:

Denominator: The total number from the data element Assisted Living Community Resident is the Denominator.

• This number will be entered into the Direct Data Submission Platform (DDSP) tool.

Numerator: Count the number of residents with a 'Yes' to the data element Fall With Transfer to Hospital; the total number is the numerator.

• This number will be entered into the Direct Data Submission Platform (DDSP) tool.

Example: You are abstracting cases for the month of August. On August 31st there are 85 residents living at the assisted living community. Your denominator will be 85. When you look back through the 85 resident’s records, there were 4 residents that fell and were transferred to the hospital. Your numerator will be 4.

Denominator = 85
Numerator = 4

Data Accuracy: None

Measure Analysis Suggestions: None

Sampling: No.

Data Reported As: Aggregate rate generated from count data reported as a proportion.

Selected References:

• Arling, P. A., et al. (2014). "Communication and effectiveness in a US nursing home quality-improvement collaborative." Nurs Health Sci 16(3): 291-297.
• Magaziner J, Lydick E, Hawkes W, Fox KM, Zimmerman SI, Epstein RS, Hebel JR. Excess mortality attributable to hip fracture in white women aged 70 years and older. Am J Public Health. 1997 Oct;87(10):1630-6.
• Tinetti ME. Clinical practice. Preventing falls in elderly persons. N Engl J Med. 2003 Jan 2;348(1):42-9.