Adding a Mobility Champion to an Existing Progressive Mobility Protocol: An Evidence-Based Initiative.

Purpose: This evidence-based initiative assessed the effect of adding a mobility champion to an existing progressive mobility protocol on functional decline in hospitalized older adults as evidenced by recommended discharge to home versus an inpatient rehabilitation facility.

Method: Older adults admitted from home to a 47-bed medical-surgical telemetry unit who were assessed as ambulatory, either independently or with assistance (Level 5), and with a progressive mobility order in the electronic health record were included in the initiative. Patient care associates who volunteered to be mobility champions were trained how to safely ambulate patients.

Results: Patients who worked with a mobility champion were less likely to be referred to inpatient rehabilitation post discharge for further care due to functional decline.

Conclusion: Mobility has a critical role in the maintenance of hospitalized older adults' functional abilities and is a determinate of their post discharge disposition. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, xx(x), xx-xx.].