The biggest cause of injuries to health care workers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, is repeated manual patient handling activities, including heavy manual lifting associated with transferring and repositioning patients.

Additionally, according to the paper A New Model for Successful Safe Patient Handling Programs, presented at the 5th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics in July 2014, hospitals are among the most dangerous work environments in the United States, and hospitals are making patients out of their workforce.

Workers’ compensation claims associated with nursing have been estimated to be $7.4 billion within the United States annually. At the same time, AB 1136: Hospital Patient and Health Care Worker Injury Protection Act, Safe Patient Handling, requires all general acute care hospitals in California to include in their Injury and Illness Prevention Program a patient protection and health care worker back and musculoskeletal injury prevention plan that includes a safe patient handling policy. Hospitals must also maintain a safe handling policy for all patient care units, including lift teams or other trained support staff, and training.

A case study at Stanford Hospital & Clinics, a 650-bed Level 1 Trauma Center, examined its Pilot Safe Patient Handling Lift Coach Program implemented from April to August 2013, using Atlas Lift Tech. To initiate the program, Atlas came to the hospital to talk with staff, administration and the nurse manager for SPHM, and performed a comprehensive review the workers compensation data.

During the pilot program, only 4 percent of April – August 2013 costs related to patient handling occurred in the Lift Coach units during hours of service. Additionally, less than 1 percent of April – August 2013 of Lost & Restricted Work Days related to patient handling occurred in the Lift Coach units during hours of service.

The team from Atlas Lift Tech, a HASC business partner, combines clinical and operational experience to build effective, low-cost Safe Patient Handling and Movement (SPHM) programs and solutions for hospitals. The three-pronged approach with staffing, equipment and training results in an immediate positive impact on caregiver injuries and workers’ compensation expense.

More information on Safe Patient Handling is available online via the following webcast, Building the Business Case, The Risk Authority, from Stanford Hospital & Clinics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag9TBFjYJeI.

Contact: Shauna Day, (213) 538-0772, sday@hasc.org

Ken Meehan, (925) 324-1647, kmeehan@atlaslifttech.com