I am attempting to develop a system to warn ancillary departments of combative patients. Ex patient admitted to med surg floor and is extremely combative. This patient is chronically combative so the floor staff is familiar and do take precautions when approaching the patient. The problem is when lab comes in the morning at 6 am to draw labs and has no idea of the danger and approaches the patient to gently wake him and he kicks them in the face injuring their jaw. I wanted to have some sort of symbol placed on the door however there are already so many symbols representing fall precautions, turn every two hours etc. Does anyone use a symbol to represent if a patient is combative that the meaning would be only for the staff’s understanding of what the symbol meant? Any suggestions would be appreciated to decrease risk of injuries in our ancillary departments.
Cathy Senior RN BSN CDE
Employee Health Director
Penn Highlands DuBois
100 Hospital Avenue
P.O. Box 447
DuBois Pa 15801
Phone 814-375-3392
Fax 814-372-2610
cesenior@phhealthcare.org
www.phhealthcare.org
This email and any attached files are confidential and intended solely for the intended recipient(s). If you are not the named recipient you should not read, distribute, copy or alter this email. Any views or opinions expressed in this email are those of the author and do not represent those of Penn Highlands Healthcare or its affiliates.. Warning: Although precautions have been taken to make sure no viruses are present in this email, the company cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage that arise from the use of this email or attachments.
