Tips to prevent falls with Loyola University Chicago nursing students

Dec 11

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Today's guest blogger is Monica Dillon who is the director of the Loyola University Community Nursing Center*. Through the program, student nurses are connected with senior residents who live in our Intergenerational Housing program. She is sharing tips that were taught to seniors at Nathalie Salmon House as part of an evidence based program to help prevent falls.

In September residents of Nathalie Salmon House participated in a series, Matter of Balance, with Elizabeth Peterson from University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).

Loyola nursing students (3).jpg The Matter of Balance curriculum is designed to help older adults learn to prevent falls. The student nurses from the Loyola Nursing Center presented a segment on risk factors to prevent falls.

Specifically the students presented these concepts to Nathalie Salmon House residents:

People who are inactive might experience dizziness when they change positions.
Sometimes the heart is unable to get blood to the brain as quickly as needed.
As a precautionary measure, we should get in the habit of sitting and standing for 1 to 2 minutes after changing positions, before getting up or walking to allow blood to get to the brain.
This is most important when getting out of bed. Once awake, move slowly from lying down to sitting at the side of the bed. Dangle your legs over the edge of the bed and do some ankle pumps for a minute or two. This can help prevent dizziness associated with changing positions.
Regular exercise can help the body adapt quickly to changes in position.

The student nurses helped to reinforce the concepts presented in subsequent weeks as they were paired with individual seniors.

The Loyola student nurses enjoyed the interdisciplinary collaboration with Elizabeth Peterson from UIC, and the residents obtained information designed to help them stay as healthy and safe as possible.

To learn more about our Intergenerational Housing program, click the button below.

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*The Loyola University Community Nursing Center, a nurse managed center, was founded in 1981. Nursing Students from Loyola’s Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing (under the supervision of nurse faculty) provide home visits & educational outreach to residents of the Rogers Park, Edgewater & Uptown communities, which border our lakeside campus. There is no fee for our services; rather an individual’s health needs & our own resources determine if our services can be provided. The target populations for our services are: