Project Grant CE147210

COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING - CONSTRUCTION - REDUCING PATIENT HARM IS A KEY PRIORITY ACROSS HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS, AND AS A HIGH RELIABILITY ORGANIZATION (HRO), THE VALLEY HOSPITAL (TVH) IS STRIVING TOWARD ZERO PATIENT HARM. GIVEN THAT ONE MILLION PATIENTS EXPERIENCE A FALL EVENT WHILE HOSPITALIZED, NATIONALLY, THE VALLEY HOSPITAL IS PARTICULARLY FOCUSED ON REDUCING FALL RELATED HARM FOR ITS PATIENTS. ADULTS OVER THE AGE OF 65 EXPERIENCE THE MOST FALLS WHILE HOSPITALIZED, WITH AS MANY AS 26% SUFFERING AN INJURY ON MEDICAL-SURGICAL (MED-SURG) UNITS. THE PERSONAL, PHYSICAL, AND EMOTIONAL TOLL OF A FALL RELATED HARM CAN LEAD TO POST FALL SYNDROME, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND LOSS OF INDEPENDENCE. FURTHERMORE, THE FINANCIAL BURDEN IS SUBSTANTIAL AS THE U.S. SPENDS AS MUCH AS $50 BILLION ON FALL-RELATED MEDICAL COSTS AS REPORTED BY THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION (CDC).TVH IS SITUATED WITHIN BERGEN COUNTY, N.J. WHERE THERE ARE OVER 168,000 RESIDENTS OVER THE AGE OF 65. EACH YEAR TVH SEES OVER 21,000 MED-SURG ADMISSIONS WITH THE MAJORITY GREATER THAN 65. THIS POPULATION IS AT SIGNIFICANT RISK FOR FALL EVENTS WHILE HOSPITALIZED MAKING UP A HIGH RISK COHORT. THE TYPICAL PATIENT HOSPITAL STAY IS FILLED WITH INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC RISK VARIABLES WHICH IS FURTHER COMPLICATED BY THE PATIENT'S MEDICAL PROCEDURES, SURGERIES, AND CO-MORBID CONDITIONS. RESEARCH INDICATES THAT FALL PREVENTION STRATEGIES REQUIRE A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH TO MITIGATE RISK. TYPICAL INTERVENTIONS SUCH AS FALL RISK TOOLS, BED OR PERSONAL ALARMS, SIGNAGE, AND BRIGHTLY COLORED IDENTIFIERS, SUCH AS YELLOW SOCKS OR BRACELET ARE REACTIONARY, STATIC, AND NOT SUITED TO COMPLEX PATIENT HOSPITALIZATIONS. TVH IS IMPLEMENTING AN INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY COMPRISED OF AN ADVANCED HYBRID SENSING BASE STATION DEVICE CALLED AUGI, WHICH LEVERAGES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) COMPUTER VISION TO DETECT HUMAN POSE AND MOTION. DEVELOPED BY CLINICIANS, FOR CLINICIANS, AUGI IS THE FIRST TECHNOLOGY THAT SOLVES THE COMPLEX PROB LEM OF PATIENT FALLS. IT OPTIMIZES WORKFORCE RESOURCES BY PROVIDING INSIGHT INTO THE COMPLEX ENVIRONMENT OF THE PATIENT CARE ECOSYSTEM. AUGI "OBSERVES" PATIENT INTERACTIONS WITHIN THE ENVIRONMENT AND PREDICTS POTENTIAL SAFETY EVENTS SUCH AS AN UNASSISTED HIGH RISK BED OR CHAIR EXITS. AUGI'S SOPHISTICATED TECHNOLOGY CAPTURES DE-IDENTIFIED IMAGES, WHICH ARE PROCESSED FOR POSE ESTIMATION, MOTION DETECTION, AND OPTICAL FLOW. ALERTS ARE SENT DIRECTLY TO CAREGIVERS VIA A SMART PHONE APPLICATION WHICH PUTS SAFETY IN THE PALM OF THE CAREGIVERS' HANDS HISTORICALLY, WE HAVE RELIED ON BED OR PERSONAL ALARMS TO NOTIFY THE CAREGIVER OF AT RISK BEHAVIOR. THESE NOTIFICATIONS ARE REACTIONARY AND DELAYED, LEAVING STAFF LITTLE OR NO TIME TO PREVENT AN EVENT. ALTERNATIVELY, AUGI OBSERVES, LEARNS, AND SENDS ADVANCED WARNINGS TO STAFF DIRECTLY THROUGH THE APPLICATION, THEREBY PROVIDING EXTRA TIME TO PREVENT UNANTICIPATED BED AND CHAIR EXITS. IN AN ONGOING PILOT, TVH SUCCESSFULLY DEPLOYED AUGI ON A HIGHLY ACUTE NEUROSCIENCE MED-SURG UNIT, WHICH SERVES COMPLEX PATIENTS POST NEUROSURGERY, NEURO-INTERVENTION, STROKE, OR SEIZURE. A TOTAL OF 28 AUGI DEVICES WERE INSTALLED IN SEPTEMBER OF 2021. OUR FIRST FIVE FULL MONTHS POST DEPLOYMENT DEMONSTRATED EXTREMELY POSITIVE RESULTS, WITH A 36.8% REDUCTION IN THE TOTAL FALL RATE. IN ADDITION, THERE WAS A 48.1% REDUCTION IN THE RATE OF FALL WITH INJURY WHEN COMPARED TO A SIMILAR TIME IN THE PRIOR YEAR. THE AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO EXPAND ON OUR INITIAL SUCCESS THROUGH THE INSTALLATION AND DEPLOYMENT OF AUGI DEVICES ON ADDITIONAL UNITS. BEGINNING THE EXPANSION IN OUR CURRENT RIDGEWOOD CAMPUS AND EVENTUALLY, INSTALLING UNITS AT OUR NEWLY CONSTRUCTED PARAMUS ACUTE CARE FACILITY, ALL WITH THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE OF ADVANCING VALLEY'S MISSION OF ZERO PATIENT HARM.