Description: Falls in elderly patients have become the leading patient presentation at most trauma centers in the United States. Transporting every elderly fall patient to the ED is costly and sometimes harmful to our patients, and our system can't continue to provide "care as usual" to this epidemic of fall victims. There must be a better way. Dr. Kupas will use case examples to show the hazards of ED care for every fall victim and will describe programs that use EMS assessment, telehealth, alternative destinations, and treat-in-place to better care form some of these patients.
Learning Objectives:
Understand the spectrum of injuries in elderly fall victims, from simple lift assist to minor injury, to serious life-threatening conditions.
Describe the cost and potential harms from traditional transport of all elderly fall patients to the ED.
Understand the risk of serious injuries like intracranial hemorrhage or multiple rib fractures in elderly fall victims.
Understand the EMS skills, coordination with other healthcare resources, medical oversight, and quality assurance that are important to safely treat elderly fall victims without transport.
