From nursing home to acute care: Signs, symptoms, and strategies used to prevent transfer

Development, validation and testing of a nursing home to emergency room transfer checklist

“…The design of this checklist was based on the frequency of symptoms for transfer from NH to ER, based on retrospective data, which were rank‐ordered to determine whether they warranted placement on the checklist. Although our ranking of symptoms was similar to other findings (Ashcraft & Owen, ; Dwyer et al., ), we suggest facility‐specific rankings be conducted for optimal effectiveness, as reasons for transfer could differ with individual institutions. The addition of the symptom “skin condition” resulted from the suggestion of several clinical experts.…”

Decisions to Transfer Nursing Home Residents to Emergency Departments: A Scoping Review of Contributing Factors and Staff Perspectives

“…They further delineate "unnecessary" transfers as those that resulted in direct transfer back from the ED, no hospital admission required. 1,2,13,30 Other authors suggested high rates of hospitalization occur because early-acute care interventions and strategies to maintain premorbid health status were inadequate. 15 Early management of acute health changes in the NH had impact on hospital admission and readmission rates, and also 30-day mortality rates.…”

Nursing home nurses' perceptions of emergency transfers from nursing homes to hospital: A review of qualitative studies using systematic methods

“…Ashcraft and Owen suggest that nursing assistants, and their equivalents, would benefit from training in recognition of early signs of deterioration and communication, while training for RNs and their equivalents should focus on assessing and managing mental and physiological changes, as well as stabilization efforts. 29 Considering that four of the seven studies found that nurses felt it was necessary to use targeted communication to persuade and influence family members, physicians, and residents, communication training should also be provided. 16,19,20,24 Communication training would also help to address the lapses in communication, both verbal and written, that were identified between nursing homes and EDs.…”