Heads Up: Considerations for Falls With Minor Head Impact in Long-Term Care

It’s a common scenario for long-term care practitioners: residents fall, hit their head, are sent to the emergency department (ED), and return after an extensive, unrevealing workup (and, of course, with the diagnosis of “UTI”). The facility then proceeds to do “neuro checks,” which typically involve a nurse conducting pupillary size and reactivity and level of consciousness assessments for a few days. But are there any opportunities for improvement?