Print 
Share 
Text 
To reset, hold the Ctrl key, then press 0.
Lying in a hospital bed is what you should do when you’re very ill. But if you’re there for long, mobility and strength decrease rapidly, especially for the elderly. Patients also depend more on staff and their return home can be delayed.
That’s why The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) is participating – along with 13 other Ontario academic health centres – in the ‘Move On Project’, launched this month at the Civic Campus’ A1 Geriatric Assessment Unit and B5 Medicine Unit. About 35 staff members and an estimated 2,000 patients will be involved. Eventually, the project will roll out across TOH.
Getting people out of bed and moving around earlier, rather than later, has huge benefits. Studies have shown that, in elderly patients, early mobilization decreases hospital stays by 1.1 days, decreases the duration of delirium by two days, decreases rates of depression, increases rates of discharge home and improves patient, family and staff satisfaction.
The project will help prevent three serious complications: delirium, functional decline and falls. The entire inter-disciplinary teams, including physicians, will learn hands-on methods to enhance patient mobility and include families. Patients’ mobility will be assessed within 24 hours of admission and they will become progressively more active with the goal of mobilizing patients at least three times per day… Families will be encouraged to help, by taking patients for walks or having them sit in chairs during visits when appropriate
Mobility is an essential life skill but is so easily and rapidly compromised, even within two days of hospital admission. This project will help our patients regain their independence, something that we would all want for our loved ones in the same situation.
Vicki Thomson
Geriatric specialist and Education Coordinator for the Move On Project
Comment on this post
Support patient care and research at
The Ottawa Hospital
I think this is wonderful! I was hospitalized and was stuck in a hospital bed for a month after life threatening complications after surgery. I feel that this is something I would had greatly benefited from. I did not have someone pushing me out of bed everyday to just walk around or even sit in a chair and I became very depressed. I had physio every second day for 30 minutes. I’m telling you, if this is something that TOH is willing to do then stick with it. You will feel great success once you have your patients walking around all on their own and you’re patients will be grateful that they had you to motivate them.