Are you surprised when receiving a text, call or fax that a resident on your SNF, ALF, or Memory unit has fallen Unfortunately, most of the time, I am not surprised since most of those I care for have chronic or varying risk due to modifiable and non-modifiable factors. Falls are a common problem, with 1/3 of adults > 65 and ½ of NH (nursing home) residents falling each year. Falls are the leading cause of death from injury in people aged > 65, and this rate increases with age. Falls are associated with a decline in functional status, fear of falling, civil and regulatory litigation, and increased use of medical services. 

The literature on preventing falls and fall injuries shows that individual interventions seldom work since, in most cases, multiple factors contributed to a fall and the injuries that may have resulted. Experts in this field consistently recommend a systemwide, comprehensive process focused on reducing fall risk for your population of residents that assesses the root causes of a fall and identifies and manages injuries associated with that fall. 

The 2025 GRS12 (Geriatric Review Syllabus) has an excellent section on Falls with teaching slides that are well worth using for staff education. These slides can be purchased individually or by topic at this link: https://geriatricscareonline.org/ProductAbstract/grs-teaching-slides/S001

In 2025, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) released “The Falls Management Program: A Quality Improvement Initiative for Nursing Facilities”. This is a facility-wide, process-focused program for building a team approach to fall prevention and management. This program has an excellent TRIPS (Tracking Record for Improving Patient Safety) tool for your use. See the link below for details. 

https://www.ahrq.gov/patient-safety/settings/long-term-care/resource/injuries/fallspx.html 

The April 2026 issue of JAMDA contains the full updated Falls CPG (Clinical Practice Guideline) from PALTmed, which is currently free and well worth your perusal and adoption. In this format, it can readily be shared with your team members for their study. In addition, the tables are excellent and can be copied for the development of focused staff education. This is the link to this CPG: 

www.jamda.com/action/showPdf?pii=S1525-8610%2825%2900550-X

I hope that 2026 is a year that includes improving your Falls Management Program.