Early Patient Mobility in the Ventilated Patient

Ventilated patients are often sedated, not mobilized until after extubation, develop muscle atrophy and therefore are hospitalized longer. Recent studies have shown that early patient mobility can help minimize ventilator days and ICU length of stay. However, most hospitals don’t have an early patient mobility protocol in place. This grant proposal will fund a study intended to assess the use of the Banner Mobility Assessment Tool (BMAT) on ventilated patients in an intensive care unit in a major medical center in Southern California to promote early patient mobility. The dependent variables include ventilator days and ICU length of stay. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge to help bedside nurses accurately assess patients mobility level and help to promote positive patient outcomes.