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Vol. 2 - No. 6 - July 10, 2007
Editor's note
Dear Subscriber,
Welcome to the current issue of Safe Lifting News. This "pro bono" e-newsletter is designed to keep you abreast of what’s happening in the world of safe lifting and caregiver injury prevention. If you’d like to make suggestions for topics you want covered in the future, please feel free to send me an email at Melissa.nowitz@liko.com. We also encourage you to share your success stories with us. And, if you’ve got a question, just "Ask the Lift Doctor" in the link below. As always, we look forward to hearing from you!
Warm regards,
Melissa Nowitz
Editor, Safe Lifting News
e-mail: melissa.nowitz@liko.com
Headlines in the news...
New "Hot Topics" Section Added to Safe Lifting Portal
Based on feedback we received from a recent "special edition" of Safe Lifting News, we have now added a new "Hot Topics" section in order to give you quick, single-keystroke access to broad topics impacting the healthcare industry. Among the top two suggested topics suggested by readers were Bariatrics and OT/PT. The new Hot Topics section will provide you a variety of information from available sources including books, articles, news reports, web links, and other media. Click Here to visit the new Safe Lifting Portal section. Please note: With the help of our readers we’ll be adding to the content of each hot topic on a regular basis! As with all of the Safe Lifting Portal’s major sections, we depend on reader feedback to help ensure optimal content. Please consider making suggestions for other "Hot Topics," or let us know if you have other ideas that might help your counterparts in healthcare facilities worldwide. Click here to access a convenient input form.
Healthcare ranks high on OSHA’s hazardous worksites list
Each year, OSHA conducts a data collection initiative to provide the agency with a clearer picture of those establishments with higher than average injury and illness rates. Information obtained from the survey gives OSHA the opportunity to place inspection resources where they're needed most and also helps the agency plan outreach and compliance assistance programs where they will be most beneficial. The federal agency released a list of 14,000 hazardous work sites in March, including nursing homes and continuing care centers. To review the OSHA release, click here.
Legislative Update
The State of Minnesota has joined the ranks of legislative bodies requiring safe patient handling programs. Minnesota’s senate bill requires, "by January 1,
2008, every licensed health care facility in the state shall adopt a written safe patient
handling program establishing the facility's plan to achieve by January 1, 2011, the goal of
minimizing manual lifting of patients by nurses and other direct patient care workers by
utilizing safe patient handling equipment." Visit http://ros.leg.mn/bin/bldbill.php?
bill=S0828.2.html&session=ls85 to review the entire bill.
Four helpful hints to prevent injuries...
The Duke Occupational & Environmental Safety Office maintains a helpful "Patient Care Ergonomics" section on their web site. The site lists helpful ways to prevent injury when transferring or assisting patients. You may be interested in incorporating some of their thinking into your safe patient handling program. Simply visit
http://www.safety.duke.edu/Ergonomics/
ways_to_prevent_injury.asp
Need assistance developing Policy Guidelines? Think Global.
From time to time we receive requests for "sample" policy guidelines from healthcare committee members who are assigned the task of developing them for their hospital or long term care facility. Here are several international sites you may be interested in for comparative reference purposes:
Ask the Lift Doctor...
Ask the Lift Doctor - Push/pull forces
"I got this inquiry from a county nursing home in central PA & I'm looking for some help: Our director of nursing needs to know how to figure the weight when someone is pushing a wheel chair with a resident. This is mainly for people on weight restriction - pushing/pulling (employee has had an injury & is on restricted duty). Do we count the weight of the wheel chair plus the person? How do we compensate for the decreased weight because of the wheels?"
Joe Armstrong
PMA Group Workers’ Compensation Carrier
Dear Joe:
A push/pull force gage is required. The key is not the weight, but the resistance to moving. The only method I know is to use a force gage. We have to do this to measure starting/stopping & turning forces with our lifts. If you let us know the type of carpet you are using, we may be able to conduct an in-house measurement that will provide you a close approximation of the pushing force required.
Stay Safe,
The Lift Doctor.
Ask the Lift Doctor - Alternative Transfer Sheets
"I am currently working on completing our FMEA for our hospital on safe lifting. We are coming to a cross roads with some staff saying let’s use the Waffle for patient movement and lifting vs an easy slide or something similar. What is your opinion on this? What have you found to be easier for staff to use? I know you can't endorse a particular product. I am just curious the type of feedback you may have had."
Allana Coleman
Coryell Memorial Hospital
Dear Allana:
Because you mention trademarked names in your question, I cannot answer specifically about the performance of either the mattress or the slide sheet. However, let me say that based on feedback I have received, both products have a place in patient transfer and repositioning activities. The waffle mattress would seem to have an advantage when issues of skin integrity are involved. The slide sheets would seem to have an edge in certain transfer operations due to the fact that they have handles or straps and therefore enable the caregivers to achieve better grip and leverage. Most nurses seem to agree that neither of the two should be used specifically to perform lifting tasks. Keep in mind that many injuries are cumulative in nature. This means they occur as "micro-injuries" over a period of time. Any significant exertion using either of these two assistive devices may cause micro-injuries, thus I would strongly urge you to instruct caregivers regarding their proper use as well as the need to avoid working in awkward positions and/or straining while they are being used. Under no circumstances should these sheets be substituted for mechanical lifting devices due to the risk of injury to both patients and caregivers.
I hope this helps.
Best regards,
The Lift Doctor
Ask the Lift Doctor - Use of Lift Straps in Labor & Delivery
"A unique challenge for Labor and Delivery units is the need for a patient in labor to have her legs held up and back to enable her to push during the delivery process. Have you identified any equipment or mechanisms (other than family members) that relieve the L and D nurse of this lengthy, awkward, heavy lifting requirement? Thanks."
Billie Sue Wolfe
Fairview Lakes
Dear Billie Sue:
You are right in stating that Labor and Delivery patients create a unique set of lifting tasks for both clinical staff and family members. Assuming your L&D room(s) have overhead lifts installed, the application of one or two standard accessory straps, commonly called MultiStraps, may be used quite successfully for L&D limb holding. There are many positive reasons to use such a mechanical system. A few include: eliminating the awkward positions and heavy lifting tasks for the nurse, allowing the patient to have the height and position adjusted to her comfort and labor needs, and easy removal of the equipment when labor changes occur. The MultiStrap fabric can be disposable; inventory can be easily stored in the unit; and the application is quick and uncomplicated. Note: if the mother is in more of a sitting position and is in need of support for her torso, we would recommend use of a hygiene vest because it provides good support in a sitting position for L&D.
Stay well,
The Lift Doctor
Ask The Lift Doctor - Tools and Advice for EMS
"I am working with a police department that has seen an increase in lifting requirements for EMS assists for moving the ambulance cots. Also the department assists the public with lifts when they fall. Do you have any training, resources, and or tools to make this type of patient lifting as safe as possible? Also, the department assists with bariatric patients lying on the floor. Are there any tools or techniques to help?"
Jim Ash
Workforce Safety & Insurance
Dear Jim:
Safe Patient (People) Handling takes all forms – ranging from home care to hospitals, long term care to local community settings. Each area poses its own set of challenges, many of which require very creative solutions. While good body mechanics and proper ergonomic posture might aid police, fire, and EMS personnel in avoiding injuries, it has been statistically proven that these alone will not protect your personnel against MSIs. There are a variety of equipment options available to provide general lifting assistance, many of which involve use of mobile type lifts. In fact, some mechanical lifts are light in weight and can be folded, making them easy to transport into someone’s home to help with a patient who might have fallen. Lifting capacities of these foldable models range up to 350 lbs. When it comes to lifting patients of exceptional size, EMS personnel should be kept informed about the extreme danger of attempting to lift these patients manually. While very few standard equipment options exist to lift patients of size in unanticipated situations, you should investigate new techniques and equipment that are beginning to emerge onto the scene. Often these "creative solutions" involve some combination of bariatric stretcher along with winches and other safety devices. Check out this link as an example: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews
/20070621/ambulance_obesity_070621/20070621?hub=Health. The other suggestion is to offer specialized training to assist EMS personnel in understanding the principles of safe lifting and the dangers involved that might affect their lives for years to come.
Thanks you and stay safe,
The Lift Doctor
Ask The Lift Doctor - Overhead Evaluation Tools
"We are currently in the process of setting up an evaluation of ceiling lift equipment from three different companies. Nurses from the Medical Renal Unit will be trialing and evaluating the equipment. Do you have any specific evaluation tools? We would also be interested in any ideas or suggestions from other institutions."
Susan Driscoll
Northwest Community Hospital
Dear Susan:
First of all, I’m glad to hear that you have a Safe Patient Handling initiative at your hospital. When evaluating equipment, it is very important to be able to evaluate ‘apples to apples.’ The equipment being trialed should be used in the same type of patient rooms, used with patients having similar medical conditions, for example orthopedic patients, and used by a cross-section of end care users. To assist our potential customers, Liko has an evaluation form for use in product trials and evaluations (click here to review the form). Note: whatever form you select, we recommend you also pay careful attention to the types of accessories available in order to cover as many lifting situations as possible. Whatever evaluation tool you select, we suggest you use the same tool for all manufacturers’ equipment in order to ensure you evaluate each company’s equipment in the same way.
Thanks for the question. Good luck, and continue your Safe Lifting ways.
The Lift Doctor
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