# Management of Older Adult Falls and Mobility in the Emergency Department

What's Inside

Falls are a common presentation for older ED patients. Promoting safe mobility is a key goal of ED discharge. This toolkit provides helpful resources for making changes in your ED to enhance the assessment of older patients who have fallen and to ensure safe mobility post-discharge.  It includes resources and tools and links to the evidence to support their implementation.

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Everyone working in the ED – RN, MD, physiotherapist, everyone – has a role to play in fall assessment. And it is essential to establish a “Mobility Champion” whose role includes getting senior hospital management involved in making fall assessment a priority for your institution.

The Role of the Mobility Champion

Toolkit Resource

One-pager outlining the qualities and roles of the clinical mobility champion in the Emergency Department.

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Fallen Older Adult Management (FOAM) Protocol

Sample Protocol

Suggestions for an ED workflow to assess and manage older patients who have fallen. Your protocol may differ.

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Post-Fall Assessment in the Emergency Department

Sample Protocol

Suggestions for a step-wise approach to assessing all older patients who have fallen.

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Timed Up & Go Test (TUG Test)

Toolkit Resource

How to perform a TUG Test: a quick and ED-appropriate test of mobility. It suggests some cutoffs to prompt further assessment of fall risk.

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Enabling Safe Mobility in the ED

Poster

These physical modifications and tools can ensure older adults can mobilize safely in your ED.

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Faculty

The West Health Institute and the Geriatric Emergency Department Collaborative (GEDC) co-produced these toolkits to provide resources for implementing the best standards of care for older adults in the Emergency Department. You are encouraged to choose and adapt the resources which are most relevant to your site.