Critical Care Fall Scale

[thedeazy]

I am an ICU nurse in a MICU/SICU ward.  We currently use the Morse Fall Scale (MFS) hospital wide to assess fall risk in our patients.  However, the wording of the MFS can be challenging with critically ill patients (I.e. intubated, sedated, comatose...).  As an example, many sedated and intubated patients score a "High Fall Risk" because they are not "oriented", however this patient is literally not moving, unconscious, and poses minimal fall risk.  

As part of a unit quality improvement council, I am trying to determine if there is another fall scale that is more appropriate for critical care patients.  Or has anyone else encountered this and come up with a solution?  It seems silly to place yellow fall risk bands, socks and a bed alarm on a comatose patient. 

TIA!

[amoLucia]

I'm remembering a Falls Risk Scale we all used in LTC. It was published by Briggs, a company that made all kinds of assessment scales/tools.

We used it on admission, post any fall, and for quarterly MDS/care conferences.

Not too sure how appprop it would be for a critical care setting. But it might give you some ideas. They could also have other fall risk forms.

Hope it helps.