Purposeful Hourly Rounding to Promote Patient-focused Communication in Healthcare Settings

Executive Summary
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Name/Number
Instructor’s Name
Due Date
 
PURPOSEFUL HOURLY ROUNDING
I. Introduction
In 2014, the CDC gave a report confirming that in 2010, the U.S. spent thirty billion dollars covering costs associated with falls among older adults. Every year, thirty percent of adults aged sixty-five or older fall, and among those falls, around thirty percent suffer mild to acute injuries, making it hard to survive independently and stay mobile. This increases their chances of early death. There were two point four million non-virulent injuries in 2011 in older adults that were successfully treated in the emergency department, and six-hundred and eighty-nine thousand of those patients were hospitalized because of their injuries. The cost for falls is anticipated to reach sixty-seven point seven billion dollars by 2011. The most common and most costly, non-virulent injuries were fractures. Hip fractures are severe are the most costly fall-related fractures (CDC, 2016). I will introduce an initiative through this executive summary to establish an hourly rounding procedure and policy to decrease hospital-acquired injury, decrease patient falls, increase patient satisfaction and safety, and lower the hospital costs.
II. The Purpose of this Initiative
The purpose behind this initiative is for CNAs and nurses to spend sufficient time with every patient, monitoring the patient’s pain, offering toileting help, placing the call light and personal belongings within arm’s reach, and altogether providing a caring and attentive presence. At the foot of the bed, a rounding sheet will be positioned for the staff to mark off the Five Ps of rounding and record any relevant comment regarding the condition of the patient at that particular time. The Five Ps are purposeful questions directed toward the patient whose intent is meeting the five essential needs: Position – Confirm if the patient is comfortable, Pain – Refer to the pain scale, Potty – Ask the patient if they need to use the washroom, Presence – Tell the patient that you are readily available, and Personal Needs – Ensure the bedside table and other belongings are within arm’s reach. By doing this, a serene, healing environment is created which is advantageous for both nurses and patients (Health Stream, 2014).
Additionally, signs will be placed directly on the patient’s bulletin board signaling hourly rounding exercise of visiting the patient every hour from six a.m. to midnight and two hours between midnight and six a.m. emphasizing that sleeping patients will not be awakened. If the patient is asleep, it will be indicated on the rounding sheet. Upon admission, the patient and their loved ones will be handed a pamphlet which will explain the rounding procedure and policy and this procedure and policy will be explained further by the admitting nurse. This initiative is aimed at preventing hospital related falls. This new procedure ensures that the nursing staff is fully liable should the patient suffer an injury on their watch.
III. The Target Population
For this procedure and policy, the target population is the patients, their fam...