CategoriesPatient Handling

Epidural Chair and Pain Relief

The Epidural Chair, Reduce the Risk of Complications

Pain during labor is among the most common reasons that people get an epidural with over half of women in the US electing to receive epidural anesthesia. It is important to administer an epidural properly to ensure adequate pain relief and to reduce the risk of complications. Learning more about epidural pain relief and the epidural chair can help to ensure that you make an informed decision.

When an Epidural is Used

A doctor might recommend an epidural when you are in labor, for long-term pain relief for certain types of back and neck pain and to anesthetize you for certain surgical procedures. During surgery and labor, an epidural gives you continuous relief from your pain for your lower body. While you will not lose all feeling, it reduces the sensation of pain enough to keep you comfortable.

For neck or back pain, an epidural injection may be used that delivers numbing medicine and steroids to the painful area. The pain relief that you get lasts for up to a year for some people, but for others, it lasts for a few weeks. Your doctor might recommend these injections when you go through physical therapy to keep you more comfortable or instead of powerful pain medications.

Why is Proper Positioning Important?

The right position is critical for fast administration and for patient safety and comfort. Proper positioning can be especially challenging during labor since the patient’s episodic pain can make it harder for them to get into position and stay there until the epidural is complete.

When using an epidural chair or EPD, it allows the patient to naturally get into the proper position. It also gives them a structure to hold onto so that they can remain still enough for safe and proper insertion of the needle. This helps to ensure greater safety and it makes it easier to get the patient pain relief faster.

What is the Risk to the Patient?

If an epidural is not administered properly, there is the risk of injury to the patient. You could experience longer lasting tingling and numbness in your feet or legs. These effects could mean that nerve damage has occurred. For some people, these effects can last for several weeks. Should nerve damage be present, you might need further medical treatment.

Another risk is an epidural abscess affecting major nerves in the area and your spinal cord. Permanent nerve damage is possible if the infection goes untreated. In the most severe cases of an untreated epidural abscess, bodily function loss is possible.

Why Are Nurses at Risk of Injury During an Epidural?

During an epidural, nurses will help to position the patient and take care of any mobilization. This could include static holding of patients. All of these activities can stress the nurse’s body and even put them at risk for things like muscle strains. In the most severe of cases, ruptured spinal discs are possible due to abnormal twisting of the body.

How Does an Epidural Chair Benefit Nurses?

 

An Epidural Positioning Device takes a lot of stress off of the nurse’s body when preparing and helping a patient during an epidural. Nurses can adjust the EpiduralChair and once they help the patient into the proper position, they do not have to worry about static holding. All of this increases the nurse’s safety and makes everything more comfortable for the patient and the nurse.

 

Whether you have pain during labor or you are getting certain minor surgical procedure, epidural pain relief can make a big difference. To reduce discomfort during the epidural insertion, an epidural chair can make a big difference. It can also make the process go faster so that you get relief from your pain.

CategoriesPatient Handling

Epidural Pain Relief and Patient Safety

Epidural Pain Relief: Positioning for maximum safety

An epidural, is often used throughout the U.S. to relieve pain during contractions and delivery without restricting the mothers’ ability to have control and strength to push the baby out. For an epidural, medicine is administered through a tube inserted by the anesthesiologist in the lower back. A mixture of anesthetics and analgesics can be included in the epidural for women who are delivering vaginally. The medicine will cause a loss of sensation in the lower extremities and the mother is still awake and alert. The epidural provides the needed pain relief for the mother to bear down to push the infant through the birth canal successfully. For women who are having a cesarean delivery, the anesthetic dose in the epidural can be increased. This type of epidural causes a loss of feeling in the lower half of the woman’s body. Epidural pain relief may also be necessary for some patients after delivery.

Why Is Proper Positioning Important For an Epidural?

The patient’s position is very important for the epidural to be administered properly, reduce the risk of side effects, and adequately reduce pain during labor. Nursing safety is also an important concern during patient positioning and epidural placement. There are two typical positions for the patient to be positioned in for optimal placement. First, there is the side lying position. In this position the patient should lay on their side in bed to allow the Doctor to access the spine. The second position is a sitting position at the edge of the bed leaning over a pillow with knees raised to create sacral curvature. The legs are typically raised by having the patient put her feet on a stool.  Medical staff will assist the patient to ensure she is in the correct position before and during the epidural block.

For maximum safety and secure positioning, the nurses can bring in an epidural chair. The epidural chair, also known as an EPD, or epidural positioning device makes it more comfortable for the patient and safer for everyone. The EPD ensures that the patients’ back is curved and they are fully supported without having to lean on a nurse! The EPD has a head rest, arm supports, a central pad that extend toward the patients chest to promote spinal flexion, and a foot plate for support. All these components are adjustable to fit the needs of each patient. Proper positioning of the body reduces the risk of error or complications when the epidural is placed.

Avoiding manual patient handling is important for nurses to remain safe during the Epidural procedure.  The EPD Solves this problem.  In the image below the nurse is supporting the patient and putting her neck back and shoulders at risk.

Stools that don’t lock can create unnecessary risks for patients and nurses.

The epidural is performed under local anesthesia using a sterile technique. When the nerves of the skin are numb from the local anesthetic, the epidural needle is inserted between the spine area of the lumbar vertebra to get to the “epidural space,” which is just outside of the spine. This space contains the spinal nerves and cerebrospinal fluid. When anesthetics are administered to this area, the pain of childbirth is reduced. Most of the time, epidural pain relief is continuous, which means the medical staff will place a soft, small catheter or tube into the epidural space with a needle. A sterile dressing is used to secure the tube to the patient’s back. This constant flow of medication is continuously administered to the patient during labor and delivery to reduce pain and discomfort.

What Are the Risks to the Patient?

Epidurals are generally safe, especially if the patient was sitting in an epidural chair to receive the medication. However, in some cases, patients can experience:

  • Nerve pain
  • Significant drop in blood pressure, which can cause nausea and lightheadedness
  • Itchy skin
  • temporary loss of bladder control
  • General sick feeling
  • Headaches

Once the epidural anesthesia begins to wear off, it is common for patients to feel numbness in their legs until the medicine has completely worn off, which can take a few hours. It is best for the patient to sit or lie down until feeling in the legs is restored. Patients will often feel tingling in their legs after the epidural is removed, but this symptom is temporary. Patients are advised not to operate machinery, consume alcohol, or drive for 24 hours after the epidural is removed.

How Does an EPD Reduce the Risk or Injury to Nurses Administering the Epidural?

An epidural positioning device not only makes medication administration more comfortable for the patient but also keeps nurses from sustaining work-related injuries, MSD’s. When a nurse has to statically hold the patient in position, support the patient or catch a falling patient, this could cause injury to the nurse. Using the EPD means that the patient is properly supported and in the ideal position every time. The EPD becomes a standard of care. Using the EPD that will position the patient comfortably so the nurse can provide effective care as efficiently as possible with the best possible outcome.

Epidurals are a safe choice for many women who want to manage the pain of labor and delivery. The procedure is recommended by Anesthesiologists for optimal pain relief.

Early Patient Mobility
CategoriesPatient Handling

Rowalker Nurse Driven Early Mobility

A Sustainable Process for Early Patient Mobility with RoWalker

When patients are critically ill, they may require a ventilator to support their breathing as they recover. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, ventilator assisted breathing is a standard treatment during the worst phases of the illness. While this treatment is necessary and life-saving, prolonged ventilation can have negative effects on patient outcomes. When medical procedures require sedation, the patient must rest in bed for days at a time. The human body is made to move, so extended periods of being bedridden will weaken the core muscles that sustain patient mobility. This is often referred to as deconditioning. Sedation and bedrest also disrupt the circadian rhythm of waking and sleeping. Patients may suffer from sleep deprivation and delirium after a time. These physical and mental side effects have the practical result of lengthening a patient’s hospital and rehabilitation stay. At hospitals under stress, patient beds are at a premium. When one patient is recovering at the facility, it prevents a new patient from receiving care. Also, a lengthy stay leads to higher medical bills and financial stress for patients and families. This is why team members need to collaborate to develop a nurse driven early mobility protocol.

Developing a Process for Early Patient Mobility

To improve patient outcomes a multi disciplinary approach including Nursing Leadership, Physical Therapy, and respiratory team members need to collaborate to develop a nursing driven early patient mobility protocol. No one wants to rush patients through the recovery process. However, if a patient can come off the ventilator and start moving, it will lead to an improved outcome. Determining if a patient is ready for early mobility takes several steps.

Reduced Sedation

It is difficult to evaluate patients who are deeply sedated. To measure progress, the staff should work to minimize the sedative dose so that it is easier to interrupt sedation. When the patient can handle the reduction safely, staff members can take the next step in evaluation.

Spontaneous Waking and Breathing

During an interruption in sedation, the medical staff can determine if the patient can breathe without assistance. They can also begin to assess the mental state of the patient.

Early Mobility Intervention

When a patient is mentally and physically stable, mobility therapy can begin while in the ICU. This treatment may only involve a few steps, but it is important progress for the patient.

RoWalker: Focusing on Patient and Staff Safety

Improving patient mobility involves a fall risk for patients, and it can create a personal safety risk for nursing staff. Without the right equipment, the patient will depend on a staff member for support. A sudden stumble can lead to strained muscles and other injuries for staff members. A serious fall will be a setback for the critical patient.

The SPH Medical RoWalker provides a sturdy framework with fall prevention in mind. The adjustable settings allow staff members to prepare the device for each patient. A cushioned platform gives the patient a place to support his or her upper body.

Lower body support belts and seating pads prevent patients from falling when tired.

The RoWalker can accommodate the needs of ICU patients. It has integrated features such as a telescoping IV pole, oxygen tank holder and a front-facing basket for cardiac monitors.

Seeking the Best Critical Patient Outcomes

A nurse driven early mobility supportive device like the SPH Medical RoWalker does more than provide an early physical therapy and nursing intervention. It offers a positive experience for the patient. When patients see that they can take a few assisted steps, it gives them a sense of hope for the future. Working with mobility also provides nursing staff with a metric for patient improvement as they extend the distance walked during each session.

The SPH Medical RoWalker combines fall prevention with early mobility intervention. Employing this device with a mobility protocol will decrease the length of hospital stays and increase positive patient outcomes.

Improve Patient and Nurse Safety with EPD
CategoriesPatient Handling

About 70 Percent of Women in Labor Choose Epidural Pain Relief

Epidural Pain Relief During Labor

About 70 percent of women in labor choose epidural pain relief “Analgesia” to ease pain during labor. This procedure effectively blocks much of the pain associated with labor contractions and the birth process. Epidurals typically don’t block sensation completely, allowing the mother to push during the second stage of labor. The laboring woman remains alert and able to participate in the birth of her child but without the typical high levels of pain during labor.

What is an Epidural?

Epidural pain relief involves the injection of an anesthetic into the lower back, known as the lumbar area. The anesthesiologist will numb the area and then use a special spinal needle to access the epidural space. This is the area surrounding the spinal cord that contains arteries, veins, fat, nerve roots and fluids. The needle is placed below the termination of the spinal cord itself, all but eliminating any possibility of puncturing the cord, potentially causing paralysis. Once the doctor has reached the epidural space with the needle, a thin plastic tube called a catheter will be inserted into the space and left there. The doctor removes the needle. Medications can then be given through the catheter until the conclusion of the delivery process. Epidural pain relief is the gold standard for relieving pain during labor. When combined with leading edge solutions like CBD, CFAH reports that epidural pain relief and the CBD together work to relieve more pain than either substance working alone.

It takes anywhere from ten to 20 minutes for the epidural to take effect. There is a lapse of this time because the anesthetic must penetrate the dura, the covering of the spinal cord, before any relief is obtained. Epidurals work by blocking pain sensations from the spinal cord to the brain.

Common side effects include:

  • Itching
  • Difficulty with urination
  • Nausea and back pain
  • No feeling in the lower trunk and legs

Spinal and Saddle Block

An epidural is not the same as a spinal or a saddle block. These procedures involve a single injection of anesthetic into the fluid around the spinal cord. There is no continuous delivery of medication with a catheter. Therefore, spinals and saddle blocks only last about one to two hours.

Positioning for Epidural Pain Relief

In order for the anesthesiologist to access the epidural space, the laboring woman must lean forward over a pillow or assume the fetal position while lying down. The vertebra must be separated as much as possible. The patient must remain absolutely still, because the doctor is working in a very delicate area where serious injury is possible. The nurse must hold the woman in place and help to steady her.

This is where nurse injuries can occur. The woman may pitch forward or jerk suddenly, causing potential injury to both herself and the nursing staff. Leaning forward over a pillow is not exactly a stable position. Accidents can easily happen. An epidural chair helps prevent injuries to both the patient and the nurse and makes the whole procedure safer and easier for everyone. With the patient in the epidural chair, the doctor can work quickly and safely to place the epidural needle so relief can begin.

EPD

The epidural positioning device, EPD, rolls up to the bed and locks in place.The patient leans over the padded, horseshoe-shaped headrest and places her arms on the padded armrest and her feet on the footrest area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This position allows full flexion of the vertebra and maintains the patient in a stable position. The EPD has the following benefits:

  • No need for a static hold
  • No need to steady a stool or table that can slip
  • It speeds procedure time
  • No greater risk from larger patients

The device also addresses the problem of the medicated patient who may become dizzy without warning. A frightened or combative patient may not comply with orders to remain still while leaning over a stack of pillows.

Because the physician can work on an absolutely motionless patient, the epidural may be placed with optimum accuracy for the most anesthetic effect. The device may possibly reduce the chances of adverse side effects like excessive bleeding.

Conclusion

The epidural chair assures safety and maximum possible comfort for the nursing staff, anesthesiologist and patient during this common pain relief procedure for laboring women.

Contact SPH Medical to learn more about the EDP, also known as the Epidural Chair to improve patient and staff safety at your facility.

CategoriesInfection Prevention

N95 Masks and PPE for Healthcare

Getting the Best N95 Masks and 3-Ply Face Masks for your Medical Facility

With the COVID-19 pandemic still affecting vast parts of the country and the world, there are continued questions about using different types of N95 masks to help stop the spread of the virus. Frontline healthcare workers have been under increasing stress to ensure they have all the personal protective equipment they need to ensure their safety during patient care. While most healthcare workers are used to using surgical masks in specific medical environments, traditional surgical masks do not offer as much protection against this deadly pathogen’s spread.

High-Quality Protective N95 Masks for Medical Use

Most medical offices use a wholesale PPE supplier to get all their protective gear for their staff to ensure they are well prepared to ward off this airborne pathogen. When looking at what the best options are, there are several things to consider.

Based on years of scientific data and healthcare studies, the use of NIOSH certified N95 Mask and 3 Ply Mask face coverings are proven and recognized as significant deterrents to the spread of airborne pathogens. They offer high-quality protection against all airborne diseases, not just COVID-19. These masks have been used for decades, offering medical professionals the highest protection levels for all types of deadly aerosolized pathogens.

For healthcare professionals, frontline workers, and people with high profile exposure to the public, these masks are considered vital and integral for personal protection while at work. NIOSH Certified N95 Mask or medical grade 3 Ply Mask usage has been recognized as a powerful deterrent against such contagions as ebola, avian flu viruses, SARS, plague, and many more pathogens.

Isolation Gowns

For frontline healthcare workers and all workers in the health field, having a full line of PPE can be essential in ensuring they are protected from the particles of COVID-19 infected patients. Science has now proven that COVID-19 has an incubation period where patients can be infected and not know it. Additionally, a significant number of people get infected and never show any symptoms while the virus runs its course. Because of the virus’s asymptomatic aspect, taking extra special precautions can be vital even for people who work even in standard healthcare offices and dental offices.

In the past, nursing staff and doctors treated patients in isolation as highly infectious and therefore donned PPE every time the entered a patients room that was in isolation. Signs outside the door to the patients’ room would indicate whether there were contact precautions or airborne precautions. That is why healthcare professionals are accustomed to wearing isolation gowns. Today the use of isolation gowns has expanded to just about every healthcare worker in a medical facility. They use a disposable or launderable isolation gown to cover their personal clothing to offer better protection against transferring the virus or other pathogens to other patients or other areas within the medical facility. Disposable isolation gowns are a great inexpensive alternative that has long been used in intensive care and in the surgical field. These disposable gowns are easy to use, comfortable, and a vital first-line defense for all types of healthcare workers. The SPM Medical Level I and II Isolation gowns are a great example of an affordable high quality Iso gown that is cost effective and highly protective.

The Electrostatic Sprayer

For professional medical offices, clinics, dental offices, physical therapy offices, nursing homes, and senior assisted living facilities, the use of an electrostatic sprayer has become a powerful frontline defense against COVID-19 spread. These devices can neutralize COVID-19 on all types of surfaces and are the perfect solution for disinfecting topical surfaces without spending hours trying to reach all the surfaces in a room.

The electrostatic sprayer comes in various sizes. They are all mobile and even easily transportable, allowing health care offices and facilities to ensure all of their surfaces and entrances are disinfected rapidly and effectively during and at the end of each day. Disinfecting hospitals and medical facilities using an electrostatic sprayer offers a higher level of disinfection than standard manual methods that would typically involve buckets, rags, and spray bottles. The fine 40-50 micron mist of the Electrostatic sprayer ensures even coverage and the electrostatic technology ensures that the disinfectant spray wraps around the edges and back side of the target surfaces. A total room disinfection can be completed quickly and efficiently at any time to ensure COVID-19 on surfaces are killed.

Selecting a Disinfectant

Choosing an effective disinfectant is a key part of this solution. SPH Medical’s Noroxycdiff has a 2 minute wet dwell time kill of viruses, and spore forming bacteria like Clostridium difficile. Noroxycdiff has an EPA approval and validation to kill 99.9999% of C. diff spores which is the most difficult pathogen to kill in the hospital environment, much more difficult than COVID-19.

Because the demand is high for all PPE supplies, many medical facilities find it challenging shopping around for a consistent wholesale PPE supplier for all their protective gear. Many medical facilities increasingly choose to make bulk buys of the N95 mask and 3 Ply mask face coverings, isolation gown supplies to ensure they have enough.

If you are looking for a consistent source of NIOSH Certified N95 face masks, 3 ply face masks, isolation gown supplies, or an electrostatic sprayer device for your medical or dental facility, SPH Medical is an authorized distributor for Makrite NIOSH certified N95 masks and a wide variety of PPE products. They are a commercial supplier of 3-ply surgical masks, air powered lateral transfer matt, single patient use items, and PPE supplies. They ship directly anywhere in the country and have a full line of COVID-19 disinfection and protective gear solutions for large and small hospitals, surgical centers, medical and dental facilities.

Epidural Chair prevents injuries
CategoriesPatient Handling

Patients Can Feel Safer With The Epidural Positioning Device

The Epidural Positioning Device, Positioning Patients Safety

What commonly comes to mind when you hear the word epidural is that someone is giving childbirth, and they need an epidural to help with the pain. For a mother in labor, an epidural provides anesthesia that creates a range of numbness from the patients navel to her upper legs.  This enables the patient to be awake and alert during childbirth, while allowing the patient to feel pressure.  However, labor and delivery rooms are not the only recommended place for epidural procedures. Patients also receive epidural treatment in general surgery and as an outpatient treatment in pain management clinics. Doctors use epidural injections to relieve pain during and after surgery and to manage chronic pain. Although epidurals help with the pain, many patients may refuse them. The primary concern or risk with an epidural is the concern about what could happen if the anesthesiologist does not insert the needle correctly. With the development of the epidural positioning device by an anesthesiologist, patients can feel safer and comfortable when receiving an epidural. The Epidural Chair, as its commonly known, helps keep their body in the proper position and stable during the procedure.

Conditions Normally Treated with Epidurals

Doctors commonly use epidural steroid injections to relieve pain associated with the following:

  • Degenerative disc disease is changes that take place over time as the discs in your spine began to break down. It can affect the surrounding nerves and cause pain.
  • Disc herniation is a condition that occurs when a disk between two vertebrae slips out of place, causing the surrounding nerves to become irritated and create extreme pain.
  • Osteoarthritis is a type of arthritis where the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones wears down over time.
  • Radiculopathy is when the pain that travels to other parts of the body radiates from the spine caused by a spinal nerve and roots disease.

What is an epidural chair?

An epidural positioning device is an ergonomic stabilizing stand that can easily be adjusted to a patient’s body to provide them with enough support to keep them from moving during these common medical procedures. Anesthesiologists developed the EPD to position patients properly for correct placement and to reduce risk to caregivers. Before the availability of the epidural positioning device, caregivers had no choice but to position and hold patients manually, putting them at risk of a musculoskeletal disorder or other injuries. Patients were also at risk of falling off the bed or table! As the caregivers held the patients, the anesthesiologist would administer the epidural placement or spinal block and hope the patient did not move. If patients moved during the procedure, they were at risk of injury. Anesthesiologists were also at risk of being the subject of a lawsuit if something went wrong.

Benefits of the EPD:

  • Using an epidural positioner removes strain and injury risk to staff.
  • It allows the patient to be as comfortable as possible while preventing the invasion of their personal space than the traditional way caregivers positioned their patients.
  • The epidural positioner promotes bending of the neck, throat, and back area while keeping the person’s body stable.
  • The patient’s back remains immobile during epidural placement.
  • Reduces the risk of spreading infection throughout the facility.

With the epidural positioning device, caregivers can effectively position patients in operating rooms, labor and delivery suites, and other facilities where doctors perform epidurals and spinal block procedures.

Epidural Positioning Device and Thoracentesis

A more recent function of the EPD is that doctors are using it during thoracentesis procedures. Thoracentesis is the removal of excess fluid that has accumulated in the pleural space between a person’s lungs and the chest wall. The imaging department within the hospital typically sees these patients. A trained sonographer is tasked with positioning the patient and finding the correct intervertebral space to insert the needle. When preparing for the procedure, EPDs allow caregivers to position a patient to keep them stable and comfortable. Caregivers can adjust the machine to help support the patient’s chest, arm, head, and feet.

The epidural positioning device is suitable for operating rooms, labor and delivery suites, pain centers, or anywhere doctors perform epidurals. Because of the ability to adjust the device, it is ideal for patients of all body types and sizes.

EPD the Epidural Positioning Chair
CategoriesPatient Handling

Positioning Patients Safely with The Epidural Positioning Chair

Positioning Patients Safely With An Epidural Chair or EPD

Are you tired of straining your back and arms? Do you have frequent musculoskeletal problems from attempting to hold patients in position? It’s time to let the Epidural Positioning Device (EPD) take the load off your neck, back, arms and wrists.

If you’re a nurse, nursing assistant, anesthesia tech, Nurse Manager in Labor and Delivery, or General Surgery this product is indispensable. It provides a secure, stable and comfortable support for patients who need an Epidural, spinal block, lumbar puncture. You might even be in the hospital imaging department holding patients in a similar position during thoracentesis. Imaging departments across the country are discovering that the Epidural Chair or EPD is a comfortable and ideal positioning device to support patients and avoid risk of injury to the ultrasound techs!

What Is an Epidural Positioning Chair?

Well, many think it’s a chair but the patient is really sitting on the bed or table. the EPD provides head, chest, arm and feet support for the patient. The EPD is a stable, portable device you can use every time you need to properly position a patient at bedside when preparing for epidural or spinal block. This occurs in many clinical environments both in and out of the hospital. For example, Epidurals are administered almost once per hour on busy labor and delivery floors. With the increase of total joint replacements we’re seeing even more spinal blocks being administered in peri-operative areas. They’re using the EPD too.

The old way of manually positioning patients is dangerous. Nurses are often asked to hold the patient in position and with heavier patients this presents an even greater risk to the nurse. You have probably tried stacking pillows, asking the patient to lean forward and arch their back. Then pushing a stool over to support their feet. You might even have your patient lean over a bedside table, but more than likely, that table has wheels that don’t lock and you’ve seen a patient more than once almost slip down to the floor! Now who is going to catch that patient? There’s a better way.

Using the Epidural Positioning Chair for Epidurals, Thoracentesis, Spinal Blocks and other pain management Treatments

Nurses, health care managers and health care facilities need a better solution, and the Epidural Positioning Chair provides it. It’s the standard of care used at leading hospitals to position patients for a variety of procedures without causing dangerous falls, sprains or injuries. It gives patients a more private, dignified way to receive a spinal block or other epidural therapy. Best of all, it makes your job as a caregiver safer.

The device is fully adjustable with a six-position armrest and 180-degree adjustable face rest. It’s easy to bring this device into operating rooms, labor and delivery rooms, pain clinics, birthing rooms, imaging departments, and physical therapy clinics. Keeping the EPD disinfected and clean is easy with disposable covers for the face rest.

Benefits of the EPD

  • Keeps patients stable by ensuring proper cervical, thoracic and lumbar flexion for stable alignment.
  • Allows you to position patients in a less intrusive, more private way.
  • Avoids injuries to health care workers.
  • Is wheeled for easy portability anywhere it’s needed.
  • Is fully adjustable to fit any patient.
  • Improves Patient Satisfaction

Thoracentesis has become a regular procedure both before during and after the COVID-19 epidemic. The epidural positioning device makes it easy to manage this predictable and frequent procedure. According to Mark E Brauner, DO Thoracentesis is generally performed with the patient sitting at the edge of the bed and leaning forward with arms resting on a bedside table. Side lying positions are reserved for those patients unable to sit. Our ultrasound techs need a safe work environment as well! The EPD provides safe support for patients who may experience syncope from a vasovagal response during thoracentesis.  Leading Pulmonologists at the City of Hope Medical Center in California are using the EPD for all Thoracentesis procedures.  The Techs and the patients love it too.

Studies on pregnant women receiving an epidural found women felt more comfortable and secure when their health care providers used a positioning device. Patient satisfaction went up substantially when compared to patient satisfaction when the women received treatment without the device.

Keeping our Healthcare Workers Safe

Back Injuries, Strains and other MSD’s are a serious concern among health care workers. According to the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN), half of all nonfatal occupational injuries experienced by perioperative nurses are musculoskeletal and more than a quarter of these are back injuries.

The average preoperative room is a high-risk area that can cause many injuries to staff:

  • Shoulder, back and lower leg sprains from lifting patients.
  • Trips and falls from cords, wires and slippery floors.
  • Muscle strains from pushing around heavy equipment.
  • Leg and back strain from hours of constant motion.
  • Neck and Back injuries from frequent and predictable lateral transfers.

The EPD addresses many of these issues. It’s no wonder the device has become standard equipment in leading hospitals including Duke University Hospital, John’s Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, Kaiser Hospitals and VA Medical Centers.

This device is a win for everyone, and it will soon become an invaluable member of your L&D, perioperative, or Imaging team.

Please contact SPH Medical for more information or to request a quote.

If you’re ready to improve patient and staff safety this device can make an immediate and positive impact. SPH Medical is a national organization focused on Nursing and frontline caregiver safety.

CategoriesPatient Handling

Solving Lateral Transfers and Positioning Risk in Hospitals

What Puts The Nursing Staff At Risk?

While you may think of hospitals as one of the safest places to work, they’re actually one of the most dangerous workplaces for staff members. In fact, an OSHA study revealed that 7 workers for every 100 full-time employees at hospitals were injured on the job. Compare that rate to other private industries, and you’ll discover that hospitals are almost twice as dangerous. The nursing staff of a hospital undergoes a lot of physical exertion throughout the day. From ICUs to ORs, the nursing staff is responsible for lateral transfers of total care patients. It’s not anything out of the ordinary for a nurse to move a patient from a bed to a gurney, to a CT table, to an OR table, and back to a bed.

Most nurses perform this task dozens of times each shift. Throw in the constant need for patient repositioning, boosting, and turning and it becomes very clear why nurses are highly susceptible to repositioning injury and strains. These injuries are referred to as musculoskeletal disorders or MSD’s. These predictable, high frequency tasks are further complicated by heavier patients.

 

The Call For A Better Solution

There has been continued concern about the health of nursing staff around the country as OSHA and the Bureau Of Labor Statistics are notating negative health trends in healthcare workers. In fact, the Association of OR Nurses (AORN) has recently published a set of recommended safety guidelines and a tool kit that includes the use of air powered lateral transfer systems for each surgery patient.  See the slides below from the AORN Toolkit. While the laws may not have caught up to the ongoing injury increases, the healthcare manufacturers have. They’ve developed air powered systems that are fast, comfortable, easy to use, and highly efficient for both caregivers and patients alike.

What Are Air Powered Systems?

Air powered systems are comprised of an inflatable pad, easy-to-use air supply,

power cord, and a hose. The patient is placed on the air powered lateral transfer system. The pump is inserted into the pad. As the pump quickly runs to fill up the pad, it sounds similar to a vacuum cleaner. Once the mattress is pumped up, it’s time to move the patient.

These air powered systems come with straps to hold the patient safely in place during the lateral transfers process. They also come with convenient handles for the caregivers to use when sliding that patient from one surface to another. In most cases, the lifting or pulling weight is reduced to almost 10 percent of the patient’s weight.

With virtually no friction beneath the pad when transferring from surface to surface, moving patients can be done with minimal caregiver exertion.  Reducing exertion reduces risk of injury to nursing staff.   There are a few different brands that offer this system, including SPH Medical, and Hovermatt. Air powered transfer systems can also be easily used for patient repositioning.

The Immediate Benefit Of Air Powered Transfer Systems

Air powered lateral transfer systems provide many notable benefits for both the healthcare worker and the patient. These systems provide a less strenuous way for healthcare workers to transfer patients from one surface to another. This reduces the occurrence of a nursing injury, including a repositioning injury or a chronic low back injury.

With the recent COVID-19 pandemic concerns, more and more healthcare facilities are investing in disposable pads for air powered systems. These pads can be easily thrown out after each use, or reprocessed, reducing risk of cross contamination in between patients and reducing risk of infections hospital wide.

Improve Patient Satisfaction

For patients, these air powered transfer systems provide a more comfortable and safe transfer process. Since the patient is being supported by the inflatable pad instead of a draw sheet, the transfer process feels more supportive and comfortable.  The uncomfortable and typically manual process of being transferred is replaced with a frictionless float to the target surface.  In addition, the safety straps give the patient a feeling of security during the transfer.  Overall patients are happier and staff are safer.  This is a win win for everyone including the hospital.

 

 

CategoriesPatient Handling

Positioning Patients Safely with EPD

Keeping Patients Safer and Reducing Injury to Caregivers

When it comes to positioning patients safely and reducing the possibility of injury to caregivers, the medical community has continually adopted new technology. The EPD is no different. Known formally as an epidural positioning device, this medical technology is successful in positioning patients safely for various procedures.

Most popularly used to position a patient for an epidural procedure, the epidural positioning device has provided many benefits for users and caregivers alike. The first and most obvious benefit is that this epidural positioner works to properly position and support a patient for a successful procedure.

Traditionally, the caregiver had to position the patient for this procedure manually. This puts the caregiver at risk for injury or MSD.  The National Institute of Health breaks down the risks of workplace injury to Nurses who work on a Labor and Delivery unit.  One of the known high risk tasks for nurses identified by NIH is assisting with epidural procedures.  The best way to reduce risk of injury is to either modify the task or implement engineering controls so that the risk is removed. The EPD or Epidural Positioning Chair solves these manual handling problems. In addition, manual handling allows for less accurate positioning and more risk for complications during the procedure. Once the benefits of EPD were discovered by nursing staff and patients, its use expanded to support spinal blocks, lumbar puncture, and thoracentesis procedures in the imaging or ultrasound department.

Expanded Use For General Surgery

With the success of the epidural positioner for childbirth assistance, anesthesiologists have utilized this device for different types of spinal blocks. A spinal block is, essentially, spinal anesthesia that is used to numb the spine during certain procedures. The most common procedures for a spinal block include urinary tract, genital, and lower body procedures including total knee replacements.

Since a thoracentesis procedure requires inserting a needle into the pleural space, the EPD is a much-appreciated tool. The patient positioning with this device allows for an open area between the lungs and the chest wall where the surgeon can remove excess fluid to allow the patient to breathe significantly easier.

What Are The Benefits of The Epidural Positioning Device

As you’ve learned, the epidural positioning device has been employed in various types of medical procedures. From starting as a better way to positioning patients safety during an epidural procedure to being employed more recently in thoracentesis procedures, it’s very clear that this medical device offers many benefits for its users.

Manual epidural positioning is typically achieved with a chair and pillows. The caregiver would position the patient’s feet on a chair or stool. They would then place pillows underneath the patient’s upper body as they placed their weight on the pillows.

This isn’t a solid foundation as pillows can easily move out of position, and the height of the chair or stool is likely not ideal for all patients. The epidural positioning device comes with a solid foundation that won’t move. It can easily lock into position and offers adjustable foot platforms so that each patient can be in an ideal position for the procedure.

Eliminates Injury Risk To Caregiver

In Pre-Ops, ORs, and throughout other areas of the hospital, caregivers are manually positioning patients for epidural-like procedures. The typical scenario requires the caregiver to steadily hold a stool, table, and patient with their entire body throughout the procedure. This ensures the patient doesn’t move, resulting in patient injury.

Assisting the patient in holding the ‘mad cat’ flexed spine position puts the caregiver in an unhealthy position. This position can lead to musculoskeletal injuries for caregivers. In fact, hospital ergonomic teams have identified that these static holds, performed on a regular basis, can lead to musculoskeletal disease in caregivers.

Reduces Risk Of Complications

Given the unique, taxing nature of patient positioning during spinal blocks and epidural procedures, there is a high risk of complications. Without a reliable, ergonomic solution, like an epidural positioning device, caregivers are us

ing their own body positioning to hold the patient fast.

The patient, on the other hand, is relying on pillows to hold their positioning. As the pain sets in from the procedure, patients are very likely to move involuntarily. This further increases the risk of the procedure being compromised as the needle is not inserted into the spine’s proper place.

An epidural positioning device provides a solid positioning for patients. This positioning allows the caregiver to rely more on the device than their own body weight to hold the patient in the ideal position for the procedure. Overall, these benefits greatly reduce the risk of complications during epidurals and spinal blocks.

CategoriesPatient Handling

Promoting Staff and Patient Safety with an EPD

Patient Safety with an EPD

Invasive procedures involving conscious patients are tricky. It can be difficult for a patient to maintain a static position during this important procedure. A sudden movement from the patient may cause unnecessary pain and discomfort. To reduce the risk of improper epidural placement and to eliminate the manual handling of the patient by the nurse, SPH Medical can improve overall safety and efficiency with an EPD.  One might not see an epidural placement as involving manual patient handling but this common procedure puts nurses and patients at risk every day. The strain of bearing a patient’s weight when holding them in position and applying counter pressure can cause neck shoulder and even back injuries to nursing staff.  Nurses and nursing assistants are twice as likely than other professions to deal with musculoskeletal disorders or MSD’s that keep them out of work.

Improving Epidural Placement

An epidural is a common way for an anesthesiologist to provide pain relief during labor and delivery. The doctor delivers a shot that goes directly into the space near the patient’s spinal cord. In some cases, patients receive a spinal block. In this case, a catheter delivers a regular stream of anesthetic to prevent pain for prolonged labor or surgical procedure.

To ease the procedure for both the doctor and the patient, it is best to have the patient in a position that opens the spinal vertebrae. In the past, staff would accomplish this by laying patients on their sides.

However, it is more effective for patients to sit upright and bent forward with a curved spine. Without the right equipment, holding this position might involve a staff member giving physical support. With an epidural placement device, or EPD, the patient can sit naturally and comfortably through the procedure.

How an EPD Works

When medical staff members are trying to get a patient in the proper position, they might use a surgical tray or bedside table and a footstool. When you are using equipment for a task for which it was not designed, there is an increased risk of tipping and injury.  Also, patients come in different shapes and sizes.  A shorter patient will need a higher footstool and lower bedside table tray to obtain the proper curve of the spine.

An epidural positioner is a safe patient handling device designed specifically to perform this task. The standard model has an adjustable headrest and armrests that support the upper body, and adjustable footrests keep the lower body at the correct angle. Once everything locks into place, the sturdy device handles the weight of the patient. When an anesthesiologist gives an epidural or spinal block, he or she can rest assured that the patient will be still and well-supported during the procedure.

Additional Uses

As more anesthesiology departments began to adopt the use of an epidural positioner, other medical specialists saw potential applications. The same position that aids the placement of an epidural is also helpful during thoracentesis.

Imaging departments often carry out this procedure to treat pleural effusions. When there is liquid in the space between the lungs and chest wall, it makes breathing difficult. Guided by imaging equipment, a medical staff member inserts a hollow needle between the ribs of the patient to relieve the pressure and collect samples.

Once again, this is a procedure where the patient must stay in one position for an extended period. Using the epidural positioner helps separate the patient’s ribs and makes it easier to perform the insertion. The patient can stay in place without discomfort or requiring support from the staff.

Safety for Both Staff and Patients

At SPH Medical, we specialize in solutions that improve patient care and reduce risk of injury to both the patient and the caregiver. Procedures like an epidural or thoracentesis are more efficient and less stressful for patients when they are properly positioned.  Safe patient handling procedures prevent unnecessary staff injuries and lost time. For institutions, this leads to an overall reduction in frequency and severity of MSD’s to a very skilled workforce, our nurses.  Investing in Safe Patient Handling provides a well documented return on investment for everyone.  Having access to the proper assistive equipment means improved patient outcomes, and lower costs for the hospital.

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