Millions of Americans fall on a daily basis.  If someone at the ages of 65 and older falls, their chances of living a normal lifestyle is threatened.  A simple fall can cause a change in their physical ability, mental ability or even their ability to live independently.

The incidence of falls increases with age and varies according to living situation.  A rate of 30-40% of persons age 65 or older who live at home in the community fall at least once a year. The numbers increase to  50% of persons living in long-term care, and increase to 60% of persons with a history of previous fall within the same year.

Most falls  result in some type of soft tissue injury, a bruise or some type of scrape. Out of all falls that occur, 10-15% result in a fracture.  Falls are also associated with a decline in daily living activities, a common result of nursing home placement and increased use of medical services. Those persons who suffer from one fall experience a decline in basic activities of living.  Persons that experience two or more noninjurious falls have a decline in social activities, and one injurious fall results in a decline in physical status.

Complications resulting from falls are the leading cause of death from injury in men and woman older than age 65. Of those elderly men and women, 8% go to the Emergency Room with a fall related injury. One third of those admitted stay in the hospital for an average of eight days.  It has been established that the lifetime cost of fall related injuries for persons over age 65 is $12.6 billion.

Falls have become such a challenge in health care today that a national committee has been formed to protect patients from falls and injuries, and to ensure a safe environment.  The committee was formed in 2006 and is called The National Patient Safety Goal Committee.  The committee has set up guidelines that begin with primary care physicians doing a fall screen at every office visit.  Any falls should be considered a reason to investigate its cause.  We as nurses are also impacted by the committee standards.  All hospitals are currently required by The Joint Commission for Hospital Accreditation (JCAHO) to have not only a fall assessment plan but a fall reduction plan. This plan not only requires nurses to assess and reassess fall potential in clients, but  it  requires that medications and their effects be taken into consideration with the assessments.

As the health care industry changes almost daily, we as nurses assume more responsibility in our daily practice. We are not only responsible for caring for the patient in the hospital, we are assisting with the evaluation of the elderly persons lifestyle and whether they have the ability to maintain their independence.

Do you need cases? Now you can get them the easy way. RN MARKET and LNC Firm now have cases available for subcontractors to work on. The selected subcontractors will get paid for their work, the same way they would if subcontracting with any other nurse who has cases. This is the perfect opportunity for those who are still having problems finding cases and making money as a Legal Nurse Consultant or Legal Nurse Investigator. The only requirement is that you have taken one or both of the the LNC STAT or CLNI courses offered through RN MARKET. You need this training to subcontract with us so we know you know what your are doing and you have what it takes to do a great job for us.

To subcontract with RN MARKET and LNC Firm, visit www.RNMARKET.com/subcontract.htm and sign up. This will put you on the case waiting list. Cases will be distributed according to the list below, specialties, and the case location.

This programs does not guarantee that you will get a case. It puts you on the waiting list for when cases are available. Sign up now to be one of the first!

Are you a CNA, LPN, RN, or ARNP looking for work in Florida? We may have a position for you. RN MARKET has partnered with RNP Staffing. RNP Staffing now has positions available in several markets in Florida. If you are interested, Contact Bill or Fabian at (866) 277-0090 or visit the Web site at www.rnpstaffing.com. Let them know you saw it in the RN MARKET Newsletter.

We would like to introduce two more speakers scheduled for the 2007 Indulge Conference. Sharon Martino is a Legal Nurse Consultant and founder of Legal Nurse Consulting Practice, LLC. Paul Martino is an experienced software engineer. Using Sharon's Legal Nurse Consulting experience and Paul's software engineering experience, they founded Legal Nurse Systems, LLC. There they create software for Legal Nurse Consultants and Health Care Professionals working in the Legal Profession. Some of their softwares include Legal Nurse Systems which assists Legal Nurses in organizing, analyzing, preparing chronologies and visualizing Medical Legal cases, Life Care Planner System which gives Life Care Planners a tool that not only eliminates the burden of cumbersome mathematical calculations but has a powerful Report Writer based on Microsoft Word®, and their soon to be released Mass Tort Manager System which allows you to create screening and follow up interview schedules that store the responses directly in a searchable database. Sharon and Paul will speak about How to Use Technology to Analyze and Demonstrate Medical-Legal Cases. They will do a mock case and discuss how to work with electronic records and create valuable trial exhibits. Sharon and Paul attended the last year's Indulge Conference and had a lot to offer to its attendees. Visit their web site at www.LegalNurseSystems.com.