My job at the Safe Lifting Portal is to be the eyes and ears that keep the Portal in step with what’s happening in safe patient handling and movement. I also provide individual facilities the tools and tips to help them start safe lifting programs and bring about culture change. Culture change is important because it helps encourage individual nurses to buy in and always use safe lifting equipment and techniques. It helps to contain and drive down caregiver injuries and corresponding direct and indirect costs. I’ve spoken with many, many nurses who have suffered back injuries and who are relegated to working in secondary positions or who are unable to work altogether. They all say the same thing: “I wish we had access to safe lifting equipment before my injury, because I surely would have avoided lifting that last patient…”

The reason I chose “We’re all in this together” for my theme today is because there’s a tremendous need to share information – tools, tips, success stories, accomplishments, results, etc. – and there’s no easy way to accomplish the sharing. That’s why the safe lifting portal came into existence in the first place, to act as a clearing-house for information about safe lifting worldwide. Yes, worldwide. Caregivers in Romania or Ireland or Japan face the same patient mobilization issues as those in Chicago or Boston or Phoenix. We can all learn from one another and hopefully make progress together. And, believe me, most people I contact feel progress is being made!

If YOU are starting a safe lifting program in your facility, learn from the experiences of others who have passed along their suggestions for tools and methodologies to start and sustain a program. On the other hand, if you’re already participating in a program, please let others take advantage of what you’ve learned. How? It’s simple. Post your comments below. The world is waiting to hear what you have to say.