Falls, CNA Staffing Levels Connected

New research has shown that the fall risk for newly admitted, short-stay nursing home residents is tied to CNA staffing levels.

The researchers analyzed MDS assessments for more than 230,000 such residents in 2006 and found that 21 percent of them experienced a fall within 30 days of being admitted. Facilities that had higher CNA-to-resident ratios had fewer falls.

The researchers theorize that new residents are more likely to fall partially because they are unfamiliar to staff who may not have conducted fall-risk assessments.

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