Headlines in the news...

Safe Lifting "Portal" Makes Its Debut
Now you can visit an entire new Web Portal dedicated to the subject of safe lifting. It’s called SafeLiftingPortal.com, and is designed to further assist hospitals and nursing homes in their efforts to reduce or eliminate costly and disruptive caregiver injuries. Among the main objectives of SafeLiftingPortal.com is providing timely information to the broad range of healthcare constituencies involved in injury prevention, ranging from managers and administrators to nurses, other caregivers, and related groups such as legislators, risk management specialists, and healthcare insurance providers.

Sponsored by Liko as an extension of its pro bono "Safe Lifting Environment" injury prevention campaign, the new portal provides an ideal means of sharing ideas and helpful information among healthcare stakeholder groups including safety committees and risk management departments. According to Brian Wright, Liko’s VP of Marketing and Education, "Often the members of these committees must start from scratch by gathering basic information and developing specialized solutions specific to their healthcare organizations. A wealth of information already exists to assist them in their efforts, and by providing a single, easy-to-use channel to access that information we hope to advance the progress and consistency of injury prevention programs industry-wide." Visit http://www.safeliftingportal.com and bookmark the site as a favorite. 

Newly Released NIOSH Guide Targets Safe Lifting in Nursing Homes
On April 6, 2006, The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released a guide entitled "Safe Lifting and Movement of Nursing Home Residents." The objective of the guide is to assist nursing facilities in establishing safe resident lifting programs that incorporate mechanical lifting equipment to protect workers from injury, reduce workers’ compensation costs, and improve quality of resident care. In addition to documenting the background and benefits of safe resident lifting programs, the guide provides general recommendations for ratio of lifts to resident population and factors to consider when promoting the use of mechanical lifts to caregivers. To link directly to the guide, visit http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2006-117/pdfs/2006-117.pdf.

AFT Healthcare Report Links Caregiver Injuries with Worker Shortage
The American Federation of Teachers has released a report based on qualitative research performed by an independent research firm. More than 500 nurses and 400 radiology technicians were interviewed about lifting, transferring and repositioning patients and how it affected their health and career. The survey found that 56 percent of the nurses and 64 percent of X-ray techs have suffered lifting-related injuries, chronic pain or both. In addition, nearly half the nurses and one-third of the X-ray techs said they were considering leaving patient care because of injuries or chronic pain. To review highlights of the survey or to download the entire report, visit http://www.aft.org/presscenter/releases/2006/032306.htm

Proposed Solutions Address Inadequate Ergonomic Protection for Nurses...
The Center for American Nurses’ recent Workplace of the Future event listed key issues cited by participants, including "Unsafe, Inadequate Ergonomic Protection for Nurses." Among the proposed solutions were providing incentives for hospitals and nursing homes to implement lift device technology in their facilities; evaluating and disseminating the outcomes associated with implementing technology solutions including the impact of length of stay, the number of falls, and turnover; integrating the availability of lift slings and devices as part of Medicare coverage; making no-lift or minimal lift part of the requirements for participating in Medicare and Medicaid; working toward an ergonomic standard in health care; and encouraging state-based legislation for safe patient handling. Visit: http://www.nursingworld.org/center/issues/mature.htm#Mature

New Equipment Feature of the Month: RollOn

Just as patients vary in terms of their level of mobility, so do their needs vary with respect to assistive devices. Liko’s new RollOn bridges the gap between conventional rolling walkers and powered sit-to-stand lifts. RollOn also helps prevent caregiver injuries by eliminating the need to manually support patients who have upper body strength and good weight bearing ability, but who are unsteady, non-ambulatory, or have difficulty walking. RollOn is ideal for all types of assistive transfer situations ranging from home care to nursing home, assisted living, and even most hospital environments. Typical applications include transfer of patients who are unable to walk but wish to stand and be moved between bed and wheelchair, to and from the toilet, or any other seated-to-seated scenario. The unit can handle patients up to 350 lbs. and is easily adjustable to fit individual height requirements. Click here to download a brochure.

UK Survey concludes, nurses and stroke victims both benefit from Standing-Aid lifts
The challenge of switching an entire nursing culture from manual transfers to mechanically assisted transfers for stroke patients can be formidable. In the rehab unit of Ellesmere Port Hospital in Cheshire, UK, administrators and nursing staff worked together to accomplish just such a switch-over, and the documented results have been extremely positive, including clinical advantages for patients and fewer nursing injuries. To read this entire article from Professional Nurse magazine, click on this link: Standing Assistance for Stoke Victims.pdf

Wall Street Journal article summarizes benefits of safe lifting programs
A February 28, 2006, article in the Wall Street Journal cites several examples of major healthcare organizations that have cut caregiver injury rates and dramatically reduced workers’ compensation expenses by instituting safe lifting programs. However, according to Betty Bogue, president of Prevent, Inc., a leading provider of professionally administered safe lift training programs, "...many employers see the injuries sustained in moving patients as a cost of doing business." Prevent’s Web Site documents examples of successful installations, plus it outlines training programs available. Visit www.getalift.com to link to the WSJ article or to get more information on Prevent’s highly successful caregiver training programs.

An Update on Safe Lifting Legislation...
State Legislatures across the U.S. continue to entertain proposals designed to curtail caregiver injuries caused by lifting and repositioning patients. For an update and links to a variety of reference articles, please visit the Safe Lifting Portal section "achieving buy-in." www.safeliftingportal.com/achievingbuyin 

Clinical Corner

Estimated Sling Service Life
How long will a Nylon Sling last? Based on anecdotal evidence on their use in Europe, Liko Polyamid Nylon slings can have an estimated service life of up to 15 years. That’s assuming they are periodically cleaned and dried according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Click here to download an informational sheet on sling life.

Ask the lift doctor...

This month’s question comes to us from Kathryn Vandermeulen of Northern Health in British Columbia, Canada.

Kathryn writes...

Question: "Cleaning Slings - Do you recommend that your slings be used for one patient only, and then washed when that patient no longer requires it? Or can they just be wiped down and used for several patients at a time? If it can just be wiped down, what do you recommend we use? (i.e. Cavi wipes, or Virex, or something else? Thanks."

Hello Kathryn,

Liko recommends several sling material solutions for your different patient, department or healthcare needs. Liko slings are produced in many material types such as: disposable, polyester, polyester net, plastic net, cotton and PVC, but due to current and future infection control standards, recommending one sling for one patient during their length of stay is the best no matter what material the sling. Sling material options other than disposable, must be mist sprayed (12 inch distance) on the affected skin contacted area (skin only) before using between patients.

Of the material options offered, a disposable sling is designed for single patient use and must be discarded after the patient is discharged or after the sling is contaminated by fluids or other soiling. Plastic net and PVC options may be another promising sling option because they are not permeable to fluids and eliminate cross contamination between patients when contaminated by fluids. In addition, using PVC and plastic net reduces laundry frequency as compared to polyester, polyester net and cotton options that require laundering after fluid contact. All sling options besides disposables must be laundered after they have been soiled.

For your skin contact sling scenarios, the mist spray would be considered the "wipe down" method you are referring to and can be used between patients. I have attached an infection care document for your review to help with any chemical compounds about which you may have further questions, but Cavi wipes and Virex are both acceptable for mist spraying.

Thanks for your question.

The Lift Doctor


To read more about sling laundering instructions, please email melissa.nowitz@liko.com to request: The Care and Maintenance of Liko slings.

Submit your question to the Lift Doctor by clicking the button below.

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