Early Mobility Management
Early Mobility Management
This actionable evidence-based practice blueprint provides a checklist for clinicians to create an action plan to improve mobility management practices and ensure best patient care. This document is revised as needed to incorporate the latest best practices and gold standard of care. The e-book is available free of charge to anyone. © 2022 Patient Safety Movement Foundation.
The Challenge
Properly managed mobility of patients in hospital settings maintains muscle function and reduces the risk for falls. Lack of proper and routine mobility management can lead to significant muscle weakening, prolonged ICU stays, and increased mortality rates due to tangentially related complications. Immobile hospitalized seniors are six times more likely to be discharged to a long-term care facility and are over 35% more likely to die in the hospital. Although daily mobility assessments are officially part of nearly all hospital policies, many patients do not receive routine, comprehensive mobility management, increasing the likelihood of serious health complications, like pressure ulcers, pneumonia, and infection. This blueprint outlines the actionable steps organizations should take to successfully implement and sustain improvements in early mobility management.
