Adding a Mobility Champion to an Existing Progressive Mobility Protocol: An Evidence-Based Initiative.

PURPOSE: This evidence-based initiative assessed the effect of adding a mobility champion to an existing progressive mobility protocol on functional decline in hospitalized older adults as evidenced by recommended discharge to home versus an inpatient rehabilitation facility.

METHOD: Older adults admitted from home to a 47-bed medical-surgical telemetry unit who were assessed as ambulatory, either independently or with assistance (Level 5), and with a progressive mobility order in the electronic health record were included in the initiative. Patient care associates who volunteered to be mobility champions were trained how to safely ambulate patients.

RESULTS

Patients who worked with a mobility champion were less likely to be referred to inpatient rehabilitation post discharge for further care due to functional decline.

CONCLUSION

Mobility has a critical role in the maintenance of hospitalized older adults' functional abilities and is a determinate of their post discharge disposition. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 50(11), 37-43.].