Huddle and Safety

The purposed evidence-based practice (EBP) project focuses on a nursing intervention (team huddles) to increase safety and reduce inpatient fall rates. Negative outcomes to consider from an inpatient fall are harm and injury to the patient along with increased health care cost for the patient as well as hospital facility. Accrued cost associated with an in-patient injury resulting from a fall is not reimbursed according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The additional cost for hospital-acquired falls is estimated to be $6,694 (95% CI: -$1,277 to $14,665) (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2017). This was only related to acute care costs such as increased length of stay and diagnostic tests that will not be reimbursed by most insurers including federal programs. The accrued cost could be greater when other outlays such as rehabilitation care or lawsuits are included. Expenses have outpaced revenue for acute-care hospitals in every year but one since 2003; without an intervention to reduce expenses (specifically cost accrued with in-patient falls) the hospital is left financially vulnerable. The EBP project: to implement a team huddle at the beginning of each shift on the Medical-Surgical floors 1&2 at UTHealth Athens Hospital. The total time purposed for the project is 12-weeks. There will be 3 phases including an evaluation period. A team huddle is a cost-effective intervention with potential to impact overall department safety, improve patient and employee satisfaction, as well as offering financial benefit