
		August 2010

Dear Subscriber,

Welcome to the latest Issue of Safe Lifting News. Our mission is to keep you informed about what's happening in the world of safe patient lifting and caregiver injury prevention. We hope you have a question for our “Lift Doctor,” and if you feel others in your organization might benefit from receiving Safe Lifting News on a monthly basis, please forward this copy so that they can sign up!

Sincerely,

Alex White
Editor
812-931-3492
Alex.White@hill-rom.com

Results of Last Month's Poll Question

Click here to see the results and read some of the comments from participants.

Spotlight on “The Econonomics of Safe Patient Handling”

Innovative workers comp programs help cut costs, improve productivity

Representatives from three separate industries (healthcare, hotels, and manufacturing) recently exchanged ideas on how to reverse workers’ compensation losses. The three shared a dais at the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc.'s Annual Conference & Exhibition to deliver a presentation titled “Excellence in Workers Compensation Risk Management.” Read more here (registration required).

The Business Case for Safe Patient Handling Summaries of Three Recent Studies Detailing the Cost Benefits

This NIOSH-sponsored study, discussed in both publications listed; found that the initial investment of $158,556 for lifting equipment and worker training was recovered in less than three years based on savings of $55,000 annually in workers’ compensation costs. The study evaluated the effectiveness of a safe patient lifting program in six nursing homes, comparing patient handling injury rates for the first three years of the safe patient lifting program with the rates for three years prior to the intervention, with 1,728 staff participating in the study. Read more here.

The economic impact of implementing an ergonomic plan

Kemmlert (1996) used four Swedish companies as case studies for implementing ergonomics into the work area and evaluated its effect. One case study included employees in a nursing home who experienced back injuries. The facility purchased a new hoist and new wheels for an existing hoist, injured workers were required to attend a 2-day ergonomic training program, and the physical layout of the workplace was reconfigured. Cost savings of $57,938 in this case study came from decreased sick leave, decreased recruitment, reduced overemployment, and reduced need for new employees to replace those on disability leave. Read more here.

Ergonomics and economics of safe patient lifting

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of overexertion injuries in nursing personnel in hospitals is nearly double that of workers in private industry. At an average cost per injury of $8,4001, it’s a risk factor no hospital can afford to ignore. Read this article to see how facilities have drastically slashed costs related to worker injury by implementing appropriate patient handling equipment such as lifts, air mattresses, stretchers, wheelchairs and transfer devices. Read more here.

Saving your back without breaking the bank

This hospital was averaging 6 patient handling injuries per month. They cut that number nearly in half a year into their safe handling and lift program. This article offers 9 tips to saving your staff’s backs. For example, when you gather the data on the number of employee injuries and the cost per injury, your argument for creating and funding a safe patient handling program becomes stronger. Look at a year’s worth of OSHA injury reports and see if there are any trends or patterns related to how the injuries occurred or who was involved. In this case, three fourths of injuries took place within 10 feet of the patient’s bed or stretcher during lateral transfers, repositioning of patients, and boosting patients back up in the bed. Read more here.

Developing a safe patient handling program for long-term care: a case study

Read this article, and others included in the link below, for case studies on the efficacy of SPH programs. For example, one facility experienced an 80% reduction in total incurred workers’ compensation costs. Comparing 2004 (SPH-related incidents to direct-care staff only) to 2008 resulted in $165,000 total incurred in 2004 versus $34,155 total incurred in 2008. Read more here.

Does your facility need a Return-on-Investment calculation?

If you'd like to perform an on-line return-on-investment calculation for your facility, visit the R.O.I Calculator in the “Getting Started” section of the Safe Lifting Portal.

After you've entered your data and performed the on-line calculation, you may wish to request a comprehensive facility assessment performed by a safe lifting consultant. To do so, simply fill in the request form.



	What is an Ergonomic Specialist
What is an Ergonomic Specialist, and what requirements do they need to have to be a specialists? Is it a college based program or a certificate program?

Sheila Fonner St. Elisabeth Medical Center

	Creative ideas for compliance
Do you or your readers have some creative ideas utilized to gain staff compliance. Not warnings but positive ways to reinforce utilization of equipment and slides.

Joan Blust PMA Management Corp of New England

*The Lift Doctor is actually a panel of clinical and bioengineering lift specialists at Liko


	This Web newsletter is sponsored by Liko, a Hill-Rom company, and is provided as a service to subscribers. Articles and information available from third parties through links to this Web newsletter are provided "as is." Liko is not responsible for the content of linked articles or news items resident on Websites owned or maintained by third parties, nor for content openly accessible via internet search engines, and makes no warranty, express or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, or the clinical or financial utility of such information. Users should check the terms and conditions of use of each third party Website accessed via links provided by Liko.