Presented annually at the Benedictine Leadership Conference in Duluth, the Benedictine Spirit Award – Internal Community Focus Award honors a Benedictine Living Community for a project or program that brings the Benedictine’s Mission and Core Values to life in an exceptional way that serves a need inside their community.
Because falls are a leading factor of serious injury for the elderly, Benedictine Living Community-Crookston applied for and was awarded funding in 2021 from the Minnesota Department of Human Services for a Performance-based Incentive Payment Program (PIPP) focusing on fall prevention.
The Benedictine Crookston falls team felt that falls management should be individualized and developed a program to help staff learn new ways to complete root cause analysis, to expand activity programming aimed at engaging residents more during the day, afternoon, and evenings to help improve sleep cycles, to decrease restlessness and prevent falls.
Nancy LPN Moser was named safety nurse and now leads the Fall Prevention team. She is developing and conducting training and works with the nurse managers to help all understand their role in resident safety and how they can prevent falls while doing their daily work.
Safety aides were hired to lead evening activities and work with the team. These aides will focus on those residents who suffer more frequently from falls, in addition to being able to offer activities during the late afternoon and early evening when falls most often occur.
Benedictine Crookston is also implementing Virtusense technology to prevent falls and provide proactive care. VST alert sensors were placed in high-risk areas. The units do not use video or identifiable pictures but utilize body temperature sensing that can help anticipate falls.
“I am proud of the hard work of the team deploying this enhanced fall prevention program and thankful for the support of the Department of Human Services for the funding these two years to see this effort through,” said Lindsey Erdman, executive director of Benedictine Crookston. “The safety, health, and happiness of our residents, tenants, and associates is our highest priority.”
Benedictine, a nationally recognized, non-profit senior care organization based in Minnesota, provides a full spectrum of health and housing services to aging adults. Benedictine owns and manages skilled nursing, assisted living, and independent living communities across the upper Midwest. Founded by the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery, Duluth, Benedictine offers many services, including therapy, rehabilitation, memory care, home health care, adult day, and transitional care. For more information, go to www.benedictineliving.org.
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