This Month's Poll:

In your experience, do you think consistent use of patient lifts has a positive or negative effect on patient safety and quality of care? Please describe why.

New Blog Section Launched

Many readers have given us their comments about our efforts in support of caregiver injury prevention. Now we’ve made the process simpler by creating a Blog section where any reader can feel free to comment on any issue. Why not visit the Blog Section today and perhaps take a moment to share your thoughts with other readers worldwide!!

From the Reading Room

Safe Patient Handling in Home Healthcare

Making the shift to safe patient handling within the home care setting requires a comprehensive and customized approach that includes both cultural and procedural changes to the home care agency, staff, patients and families, as well as an advanced approach by equipment manufacturers, payers and perhaps even legislation. Review PowerPoint presentation here.

TLC – Transferring and Lifting with Care

At Baptist Health, a multi-facility health system based in Jacksonville, FL, caregivers benefit from an injury prevention program called "Transferring and Lifting with Care" or TLC. The TLC program covers five hospitals and is aimed at reducing the MSIs that result from lifting, repositioning and transferring patients. Read more here.

Evaluation of ceiling lifts: transfer time, patient comfort and staff perceptions

Increasingly, ceiling lifts are being advocated as an alternative to floor lifts. Advantages include constant availability and elimination of some of the problems associated with floor lifts. Ceiling lifts have been shown to be a cost effective means of reducing injury rates. Read more here.

Studies show, the sooner a patient can be safely encouraged to sit or stand, the better

Peterborough Regional Health Centre, Ontario, Canada, is making good progress toward reducing injuries related to patient handling and movement. As with many institutions, the challenge is how to achieve patient mobility while minimizing the risk of injury to both the patient and their caregivers. "It might sound harmless, but in reality a patient transfer can be the most perilous task a nurse performs all day." Click here to read the article.

Tools of the Trade: Fitting Clients with the Right Patient Lift

Getting a client from point A to point B often requires use of more than just a wheelchair. In fact, it could require the use of a patient lift —and the lift works well only if the client selects a product that provides safe operation and meets the specific needs of the client, caregiver and location. Read this HME Business article by clicking here.