Safe Patient Handling
This document was uploaded by user and they confirmed that they have the permission to share it. If you are author or own the copyright of this book, please report to us by using this DMCA report form. Report DMCA
Overview
Download & View Safe Patient Handling as PDF for free.
More details
- Words: 1,072
- Pages: 2
Safe Patient Handling BY STEPHANIE TABONE, MSN, RN, TNA DIRECTOR
OF
PRACTICE
No, this is not yet another story about the danger of back injuries among nurses and the numbers of nurses forced to leave the bedside due to limitations resulting from a back injury. A new twist has presented itself in the area of ergonomics, “Safe Patient Handling,” which offers a solution to the problem rather than just an identification of the burden it presents to the health care industry. The new approach recognizes that patient transfers present clear risk for both the patient and the nurse; and that these risks are costly and could be significantly decreased or eliminated to the benefit of all concerned.
A
review of statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the insurance industry finds that nurses have among the highest estimated rates of back injury with an average of 40,000 back illnesses reported by nurses each year. Moreover, nurses have the highest rates of compensation claims of any occupation or industry. It is estimated that 12% of nurses leave the profession as a result of back injury and over 52% of nurses identify that they have chronic back pain. The cost to the health care industry attributable to back injury is estimated to be $20 billion per year. In 2000, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued standards for the prevention of ergonomic injury. The standards ultimately were not adopted and now serve only as a guideline for the prevention of ergonomic injury. However, in 2004, the numbers and severity of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) in nursing homes resulted
Page 10
in OSHA-issued, comprehensive nursing home guidelines for preventing MSD. The rate of MSD in nursing homes is twice that of any other health care setting. The goal of the OSHA MSD guidelines: “OSHA recommends that manual lifting of residents should be minimized in all cases and eliminated when possible. Minimizing and, where possible, eliminating resident lifting is the primary goal of the ergonomics process in the nursing home setting and of these guidelines.” Programs to decrease patient handlingrelated injury have been effective by 20-80% when implemented in lowering
visit us on the web — www.texasnurses.org
numbers of injuries and lost work time. The OSHA guidelines go on to identify that, “facilities that have implemented ergonomicsbased injury prevention programs using effective engineering and work practice controls have achieved considerable success in reducing work-related injuries and workers’ compensation costs. In addition, some institutions have experienced additional benefits, including reduced staff turnover and associated training and administrative costs, reduced
March 2005 TEXAS NURSING
absenteeism, increased productivity, improved morale, reduced resident injury, and increased resident comfort.” The guidelines also describe model programs that have significantly reduced the burden of back injury in health care facilities. OHSA recommendations and anecdotal reports about the levels of success achieved through safe patient handling programs have resulted in a new ANA initiative, “Handle With Care.” Spearheaded in Florida, the program is beginning to take off. Constituent member associations including Texas Nurses Association are considering legislative and other policy initiatives to decrease the threat of ergonomic injury to nurses. With nursing shortage data that indicate demand will only continue to grow for older nurses at the bedside, there is no doubt that policies which decrease or eliminate lifting of patients could go a long way toward keeping older nurses in the workforce. So compelling are the cost benefits associated with implementation of safe patient handling that lifting equipment, lift teams, and sophisticated overhead tracks that accommodate multiple lifting tools are becoming more common. But just purchasing equipment is not the silver bullet. Administrators skeptical of safe patient handling would attest to the fact that lift equipment is gathering dust in many facilities. So what does it take? A change in culture/ management commitment and employee participation •Management that tailors ergonomic interventions to the specific conditions in which lifting occurs •Employee input into the equipment and methods that
TEXAS NURSING March 2005
will be most effective •Understanding that proper body mechanics alone will not eliminate ergonomic stressors •Shifting the emphasis from body mechanics considering how a lift can be eliminated or at the very least minimized Ergonomics Training •Recognition of signs and symptoms of MSD so they can be reported and response made to the problem before it is debilitating •Assessment skills that provide skills in identification of jobs and tasks that involve ergonomic stressors •Information and skills in controlling stressors •Training that encompasses staff exposed to stressors and those that can influence the implementation of programs to reduce MSD Occupational Health Management of MSDs •Ongoing occupational management is a necessary component of implementation so that injury and time away from work is minimized through: •Effective reporting of injury is made in a timely manner •A trained health care professional responds to injuries before they are debilitating •Accurate recordkeeping occurs to evaluate the effectiveness of the safe patient handling program Control Methods include: •Evaluation of the worksite and the types of situations the demand patient handling •Identification of equipment that could eliminate or minimize patient handling when possible •Development of appropriate lifting plans for individual patients •Ongoing use of algorithms for lifting decisions
•Assessment of other activities that create ergonomic risks such as: cleaning rooms, waste collection, pushing of heavy carts, stocking supplies, adjusting beds and development of control methods for these activities Use of safe patient handling programs like the one OSHA outlines clearly could have a significant impact on musculoskeletal disorders. ANA Safe Patient Handling Information can be reviewed at: www.nursingworld. org/handlewithcare/hwc.pdf. The complete OSHA guidelines can be accessed at the following URL: www.osha.gov/ergonomics/ guidelines/nursinghome/draft/ nursinghomeguideline.pdf
APN TITLING ISSUES continued from page 9 new, national model. Since its public hearing in October, and participation at the national stakeholders meeting in December, the BNE has now published in the February 11, 2005 Texas Register some “Proposed New Amendments to Rules 221.2 and 221.7 relating to Advanced Practice Titles.” With that publication at www.sos.state. tx.us/texreg/issues.shtml, another 30-day public comment period began and the work continues. A follow-on meeting of the National Nursing Stakeholders on Advanced Practice is to convene again in early April 2005, just before the six-month moratorium on this issue expires and, consequently, the BNE revisits for adoption the newly proposed new rules. * Slides of Dr. Margretta Styles keynote address can be viewed at www.nursingworld. org/news.
visit us on the web — www.texasnurses.org
Page 11
OF
PRACTICE
No, this is not yet another story about the danger of back injuries among nurses and the numbers of nurses forced to leave the bedside due to limitations resulting from a back injury. A new twist has presented itself in the area of ergonomics, “Safe Patient Handling,” which offers a solution to the problem rather than just an identification of the burden it presents to the health care industry. The new approach recognizes that patient transfers present clear risk for both the patient and the nurse; and that these risks are costly and could be significantly decreased or eliminated to the benefit of all concerned.
A
review of statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the insurance industry finds that nurses have among the highest estimated rates of back injury with an average of 40,000 back illnesses reported by nurses each year. Moreover, nurses have the highest rates of compensation claims of any occupation or industry. It is estimated that 12% of nurses leave the profession as a result of back injury and over 52% of nurses identify that they have chronic back pain. The cost to the health care industry attributable to back injury is estimated to be $20 billion per year. In 2000, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued standards for the prevention of ergonomic injury. The standards ultimately were not adopted and now serve only as a guideline for the prevention of ergonomic injury. However, in 2004, the numbers and severity of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) in nursing homes resulted
Page 10
in OSHA-issued, comprehensive nursing home guidelines for preventing MSD. The rate of MSD in nursing homes is twice that of any other health care setting. The goal of the OSHA MSD guidelines: “OSHA recommends that manual lifting of residents should be minimized in all cases and eliminated when possible. Minimizing and, where possible, eliminating resident lifting is the primary goal of the ergonomics process in the nursing home setting and of these guidelines.” Programs to decrease patient handlingrelated injury have been effective by 20-80% when implemented in lowering
visit us on the web — www.texasnurses.org
numbers of injuries and lost work time. The OSHA guidelines go on to identify that, “facilities that have implemented ergonomicsbased injury prevention programs using effective engineering and work practice controls have achieved considerable success in reducing work-related injuries and workers’ compensation costs. In addition, some institutions have experienced additional benefits, including reduced staff turnover and associated training and administrative costs, reduced
March 2005 TEXAS NURSING
absenteeism, increased productivity, improved morale, reduced resident injury, and increased resident comfort.” The guidelines also describe model programs that have significantly reduced the burden of back injury in health care facilities. OHSA recommendations and anecdotal reports about the levels of success achieved through safe patient handling programs have resulted in a new ANA initiative, “Handle With Care.” Spearheaded in Florida, the program is beginning to take off. Constituent member associations including Texas Nurses Association are considering legislative and other policy initiatives to decrease the threat of ergonomic injury to nurses. With nursing shortage data that indicate demand will only continue to grow for older nurses at the bedside, there is no doubt that policies which decrease or eliminate lifting of patients could go a long way toward keeping older nurses in the workforce. So compelling are the cost benefits associated with implementation of safe patient handling that lifting equipment, lift teams, and sophisticated overhead tracks that accommodate multiple lifting tools are becoming more common. But just purchasing equipment is not the silver bullet. Administrators skeptical of safe patient handling would attest to the fact that lift equipment is gathering dust in many facilities. So what does it take? A change in culture/ management commitment and employee participation •Management that tailors ergonomic interventions to the specific conditions in which lifting occurs •Employee input into the equipment and methods that
TEXAS NURSING March 2005
will be most effective •Understanding that proper body mechanics alone will not eliminate ergonomic stressors •Shifting the emphasis from body mechanics considering how a lift can be eliminated or at the very least minimized Ergonomics Training •Recognition of signs and symptoms of MSD so they can be reported and response made to the problem before it is debilitating •Assessment skills that provide skills in identification of jobs and tasks that involve ergonomic stressors •Information and skills in controlling stressors •Training that encompasses staff exposed to stressors and those that can influence the implementation of programs to reduce MSD Occupational Health Management of MSDs •Ongoing occupational management is a necessary component of implementation so that injury and time away from work is minimized through: •Effective reporting of injury is made in a timely manner •A trained health care professional responds to injuries before they are debilitating •Accurate recordkeeping occurs to evaluate the effectiveness of the safe patient handling program Control Methods include: •Evaluation of the worksite and the types of situations the demand patient handling •Identification of equipment that could eliminate or minimize patient handling when possible •Development of appropriate lifting plans for individual patients •Ongoing use of algorithms for lifting decisions
•Assessment of other activities that create ergonomic risks such as: cleaning rooms, waste collection, pushing of heavy carts, stocking supplies, adjusting beds and development of control methods for these activities Use of safe patient handling programs like the one OSHA outlines clearly could have a significant impact on musculoskeletal disorders. ANA Safe Patient Handling Information can be reviewed at: www.nursingworld. org/handlewithcare/hwc.pdf. The complete OSHA guidelines can be accessed at the following URL: www.osha.gov/ergonomics/ guidelines/nursinghome/draft/ nursinghomeguideline.pdf
APN TITLING ISSUES continued from page 9 new, national model. Since its public hearing in October, and participation at the national stakeholders meeting in December, the BNE has now published in the February 11, 2005 Texas Register some “Proposed New Amendments to Rules 221.2 and 221.7 relating to Advanced Practice Titles.” With that publication at www.sos.state. tx.us/texreg/issues.shtml, another 30-day public comment period began and the work continues. A follow-on meeting of the National Nursing Stakeholders on Advanced Practice is to convene again in early April 2005, just before the six-month moratorium on this issue expires and, consequently, the BNE revisits for adoption the newly proposed new rules. * Slides of Dr. Margretta Styles keynote address can be viewed at www.nursingworld. org/news.
visit us on the web — www.texasnurses.org
Page 11
Related Documents
Safe Patient Handling
November 2019 4
Patient Casualty Handling
June 2020 3
Handling Difficult Patient Behaviors
June 2020 0
Safe Handling Of Cryoganic Liquid
November 2019 16
