Fall Prevention Champions

Patient safety is a cornerstone of care at QCH. The Fall Prevention Champions (FPC) initiative, launched on October 16, 2024, supports QCH’s True North goal of delivering an Exceptional Care Experience while meeting Accreditation Canada's standards for Falls Prevention and Injury Reduction.

Led by the Geriatric team and Health Human Resources program, this initiative places clinical externs—nursing students—in high-risk units for falls such as medical, surgical, rehabilitation, and alternate level of care. These externs engage patients and families within the first 48 hours of admission, promoting personalized fall prevention education and active involvement in care.

Key components include universal fall precautions, intentional rounding to address risks early, and analyzing unit-specific fall data for improvements. This interdisciplinary approach strengthens QCH’s safety culture through shared accountability among healthcare teams, patients, and families. By addressing systemic contributors to falls, QCH enhances its ability to prevent incidents and ensure patient safety remains central to care delivery. This initiative exemplifies QCH’s dedication to building trust, respect, and an exceptional experience for every patient.

The results:

In Q4 (January-March 2025), fall events occurring 48 hours after admission were reduced by 17.5% hospital wide, compared to Q2 (July-September 2024).

On the C4 and D3 units, we’ve seen a notable reduction in fall events:

• C4 reported a 51% reduction in falls.

• D3 saw a 45.6% reduction in falls.

Given the overall success of the initiative, QCH has permanently integrated it into Clinical Extern training across the hospital.

We are also excited to share that other regional hospitals have reached out to our Geriatric Team, expressing interest in replicating this innovative QCH-led initiative within their own settings for their clinical externs.