What: Initiative
Name: Building Capacity for Stepping On- A Healthcare Experience
Where: Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, WI
Major Project Activities: Falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations at Froedtert Hospital, an adult Level I Trauma Center located in Milwaukee Wisconsin. The trauma center treats about 1,400 patients annually for serious fall injuries that most in most cases require a hospital stay. Falls prevention is a top priority for the trauma center. In 2021 the organization became a program provider of Stepping On, an effective 8-week program aimed at preventing falls for community-dwelling older adults. With one trained facilitator and the support of a peer facilitator, the first workshop was held virtually, in the spring of 2021. With a successful pilot the trauma center identified goals for program growth and maintenance. The following capacity building strategies were established: • Identify staff persons and medical students interested in becoming facilitator trained. • Identify and partner with host sites such as senior living facilities and places of worship. • Use trauma registry data to identify locations of traumatic falls by zip code to guide the selection of workshop locations and promotion efforts. • Identify and ensure program funding sources and in-kind support. Froedtert Hospital currently provides 4-5 in-person and virtual workshops annually while maintaining a roster of paid and volunteer facilitators and guest experts. Internal and external in-kind support and funding is used to leverage program needs. Workshops are coordinated by trauma center staff, while leveraging the resources available to a health system. The trauma center continues to offer programing in locations where community members live and pray. Data informed practices are used to plan and inform community members and patients about workshop offerings. Coordinating near consecutive workshops has its challenges. The time commitment, amount of resources needed to maintain consecutive workshops, and financial burden is high. On-going support from organizational leaders contributes to the success of our program.
Interested in learning more about how this organization is implementing this initiative? Reach out to Kim Lombard at kimberly.lombard@froedtert.com
