Results of Last Month's Poll Question

Question: "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."

Click here to see graphs of results.
Click here to read top ten responses.

From the Reading Room

An Evidence Base and a Safer Workplace

Jennings Center for Older Adults in Garfield Heights, OH, is a long-term care provider that collaborated with a professional nursing association and a university school of nursing to implement a safe-movement program.   They also participated in an extensive evaluation that documented a reduction in injuries to staff. For more information, click here.

Facilities must change to accommodate obese patients

Because of their physical size, obese patients often cannot use standard wheelchairs, waiting-room armchairs, blood pressure cuffs, hospital beds and gowns, or M.R.I. and CAT scan machines. Likewise, X-rays might not penetrate far enough into their bodies to produce useful images, causing possible care delays. For these reasons, architects are facing new design challenges. They are beginning to realize the need to accommodate more bariatric patients. Newly constructed hospitals and healthcare facilities also want to incorporate these design elements from the start. Click here for more information.

To download a bariatric solutions brochure, click here.

HealthWorks

The Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association - Healthcare Institute’s Sept. ’08 newsletter features interesting articles on mentoring, safe lifting toolkit, and other relevant topics. Visit here for details.

Safe Handling of Children

Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota offers a single-page information sheet telling parents about the hospital’s use of mechanical lifts when moving patients weighing more than 30 lbs. Click here to read the article.

Minimal-Lift Culture at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital

Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, Melrose Park, IL, started its journey toward minimal lifting and caregiver injury prevention more than fifteen years ago, in 1992.  Over the ensuing years, progress was made on several fronts.  Find out how they are accomplishing successful results. Click here for information.

Setting Up an Ergonomics Program

A comprehensive ergonomics program encompasses topics such as management commitment, worker involvement, case tracking, training, evaluations, and more.  Review this UConn Health Center PowerPoint here.

Research Urged to Improve MSD Reporting by Health Workers

 Nancy N. Menzel, Ph.D., RN, COHN-S, associate professor of community health in the UNLV School of Nursing's Department of Psychosocial Nursing, says better data are needed to improve MSD reporting.   Also, more research, better occupational injury and illness surveillance by occupational health nurses, and action by state legislators and professional advocacy groups are needed to improve the scant data available for work-related musculoskeletal disorders among health care workers. Click here for more information.

We're Number Two

In a recent NIOSH eNews report, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) ranked healthcare tied for second in its list of nonfatal injury and illnesses among private sector industries with 5.6 reported injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers. Only transportation and warehousing topped healthcare. Further, general medical and surgical hospitals reported more than 253,500 injuries and illnesses, more than any other industry in 2007. Click here to visit the HC Pro OSHA Healthcare Advisor.

SPH Program reduces costs at L&M Hospital in CT

A two-year Safe Patient Handling initiative at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in Connecticut has achieved significant success. Workers’ compensation costs are down by nearly one-half million dollars. Days away from work due to patient handling injuries are down 98 percent. Read the L&M News Release.