Mobility Decline Prevention

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Modules - Mobility Decline Prevention

WALKING OR WHEELING

  • A licensed nurse should assess the resident's walking ability during the first FIT session and share results with the appropriate CNAs, letting them know which residents can walk and which are non-ambulatory.

  • Based on the nurses' assessment findings, CNAs should encourage residents to walk or, if non-ambulatory, to wheel their chairs during each of the four care episodes.

  • Residents may walk or wheel their chairs either before or after receiving incontinence care. Ask the resident for his or her preference.

  • To start, encourage residents to walk or wheel their chairs for one to five minutes per session. Prompt them to gradually (over several weeks) increase their mobility time until they reach a maximum of five minutes per session.

  • See Step 3 of our walking program for tips on motivating residents to stay mobile. These suggestions are geared toward encouraging residents to walk, but most apply equally well to encouraging residents to wheel their chairs. See also our tips for improving wheelchair mobility in our FAQs section.

  • Record the results of each session in our FIT log.
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