Use of Physical Restraints in Wisconsin Nursing
Homes
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of BQA 00-032 (PDF, 5 KB)
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Date: March 30, 2000 DSL-BQA-00-032
To: Nursing Homes NH 16
From: La Vern Woodford, Chief, Resident Care Review Section
Susan Schroeder, Director, Bureau of Quality Assurance
We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all Wisconsin nursing
homes on the efforts they have made to reduce the use of physical restraints. Less than
four years ago, only Alaska had a greater percentage of nursing home residents in
restraints than Wisconsin. At that time, almost one-third (32.4 percent) of Wisconsin
nursing home residents were in restraints, nearly twice the national average. Today, for
the first time, Wisconsin nursing homes are below the national average in using physical
restraints. Physical restraint use in Wisconsin nursing homes as of March 2000 is 10.9
percent compared to a national average of 11 percent. This change reflects the tremendous
amount of effort nursing homes have made to reduce restraint use and to find alternative
methods for ensuring resident safety.
This change is even more remarkable when we consider the changes in resident
characteristics that have occurred since July 1996. At that time, 26 percent of Wisconsin
nursing home residents required assistance with ambulating. In March 2000, this number
rose to 42 percent. In July 1996, 21 percent of residents displayed behavior symptoms and
39 percent had some form of dementia. Today, these numbers are 30 percent displaying
behavior symptoms and 44 percent with some form of dementia. In the past, as nursing homes
admitted more residents with these characteristics, there would possibly have been a
greater use of restraints to manage these residents and their behaviors. The ability of
nursing homes to reduce the use of physical restraints, in spite of these changes in
residents, reflects the efforts and hard work put forth by their staff.
Thank you for the efforts you have made to reduce restraint usage and to work toward
the goal of ensuring that only those residents who require a restraint to treat a medical
symptom, as determined by an individualized comprehensive assessment, are restrained. We
hope you will pass our congratulations on to all your staff.
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