Categoriesair transfer systems

Air Assisted Transfer System Makes an Immediate Impact on Injury Rates

Obesity rates are increasing at an alarming rate, with over 42% of adults in the morbidly obese spectrum. This increase in weight nationally causes a direct strain in healthcare industry, where healthcare workers’ risk of injury while at work increases significantly. An air assisted transfer system makes an immediate impact on injury rates and accidents. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that nurses, attendants, orderlies, and nursing attendants call for more sick days due to occupational injury, especially during in bed repositioning of patients in the ICU.

Dangers to caregivers

Nurses have highlighted the challenges of caring for morbidly obese patients but the problem does not lie with just the larger patients.  The old fashioned manual lifting, moving, pushing, pulling and supporting patients is taking a the toll on nurses back, hips, and shoulders.  Many have expressed the need to implement a safe patient handling program to reduce injuries.  A survey conducted showed that in 12 months, 21% of all reported injuries were directly linked to caring for a patient of size. Most of the survey respondents were quick to complain about shoulder discomfort, strain and pain in their back area for up to 24 hours after transferring patients to bariatric beds. Serious injuries have resulted in up to 12 % of nurses to leaving the workforce yearly, many are older experienced nurses that we can’t afford to have leave.  With a nursing shortage continuing to plague the healthcare sector and injury rates persisting, many states took action and began enacting healthcare worker protection laws.

The National Institute of Health reports that healthcare workers are five times more likely to experience injuries than in other occupations.  Today, state and national legislation is driving the adoption of Safe Patient Handling principles into everyday patient care.  Organizations like the ANA American Nurses Association, AORN, Mobility Matters, ASPHP and others all support the integration of Safe Patient Handling and an air assisted transfer system into nursing and physical therapy practices.

Patient safety

Patients of all sizes also risk injury when being moved or mobilized. as data shows there are countless near misses that always place both health care workers and patients on edge. Worse still, traditional systems to move the patients usually need two or more staff members to transfer the patients. The high rates of injuries reported by nurses increase the need for the recruitment of nurses at all times. Other patients feel the gap as more staff attend to one patient, leaving other areas lacking, making the patient-to-nurse gap even larger. Still, morbidly obese harnessing equipment for patients after surgery can cause harm leaving nurses feeling the situation is out of control.

The movement in itself may tear stitches, or the equipment may fail, causing injury to the patient, elongating the healing period, which may further increase when moving them again. Still, nurses cannot determine the right positioning of the patient due to the large mass, making it harder to safely secure them, leaving them to judge if the patient’s body is adequately resting. Unfortunately for the patients, no blame is on the nurses if an accident occurs. Although the patient’s care is on them, they cannot satisfactorily handle their duties due to the lack of technology.

Facilities and equipment

The first step to minimizing injury rates in nurses has been recognizing and monitoring near-miss situations. It has led to medical facilities devising safety measures to aid nurses, leading to purchasing specialized equipment for better repositioning up in bed. The good news is that those safe patient handling programs work. New hospitals are at the forefront of installing ceiling lifts for easy access and use of safety equipment. Older hospitals work to have the equipment fitted into the facilities. The problem arising is that they cannot be installed in many hospital areas.

Affordability is also an issue in many facilities. The special equipment for a standard bariatric room costs above $55,000, which is extremely high than a standard bed constant of $12,000 for a ceiling lift. Early investment is recommended. Still, mobile lifts are often ignored in most facilities, and the most preferred option is the Air Transfer system. It works to get morbid obese patients from the bed to the CT table, the OR table, and the gurney. Its portability ensures that it moves with the patient and nurses, reducing the risk of injury to both parties, especially when repositioning a patient in bed. Its popularity peaks as its breathable material makes it possible to stay under the patient for their entire length of stay, allowing nurses to reposition, boost, turn or transfer to a stretcher for a test or  surgery. Infection prevention is enhanced as the Single Patient use air transfer mattress is disposable and used only per patient.

The challenge

Nurses have a new challenge of using specialized equipment. Some nurses say they have no time to use the equipment due to the patient care workload they face on certain inpatient units.  Typical excuses are looking for the equipment takes too long, the lifts needing setting up, we’re always missing slings due to laundry, or it takes up to three or more caregivers to perform a certain task which takes too long.  Nurses agree that they prefer simple equipment that takes time to set up, like the air transfer mattress. Still, in many facilities, there are storage issues and the mobile lifts take up too much space.  Nurses find that the Air Transfer System is much easier to store and make available on the unit.  When the appropriate equipment is not available or accessible to nurses they are forced to continue to lift patients manually.  and have no place to complain as the equipment is already within the hospital facility; it is just inaccessible.  Hospital administrators are seeing the benefits of reduced workers compensation costs, a reduction in lost and modified duty days and an overall improvement in staff safety and morale when the appropriate safety equipment is made available on each and every nursing unit.  The conclusion from hospitals across the country is that nurses are safer using the air assisted transfer system when caring for morbidly obese patients.

Categoriesair transfer systems

Nurses Select Air Transfer Systems to Improve Safety and Patient Care

Nurses Are Becoming Increasingly At Risk For Workplace Injuries

Now more than ever, there is a shortage of nurses. Many older nurses are hitting retirement age, and the COVID virus Pandemic has not been kind to these figures either. More nurses are needed, and fewer are available. This issue is correlating unfortunately well with other directly related topics. Patients are getting much heavier, and States are legislating to mandate safety programs in hospitals. These programs are not a negative factor, but in regards to fewer nurses and more serious patients, more and more injuries are occurring for nurses in the workplace. Nurses are in the top three professions at risk for receiving Musculoskeletal Injuries that are potentially career-ending. The overall objective is safe patient handling while simultaneously minimizing workplace injuries. If nurses could move larger patients without risking injury, it would benefit the nursing shortage as well. Also, if a larger patient is coding, time is a crucial resource. If a nurse doesn’t have to struggle to reposition or transfer a patient, it can potentially be life-saving. This is where the SPH Medical Air Transfer Systems can help save time and resources in a critical situation.

Other Technologies Have Been Used But Remain Limited

There have been other systems and technologies in place. Ceiling lifts were installed in newer hospitals and were retrofitted in several older hospitals. The main concern with this system is mobility. Ceiling lifts are attached to a permanently mounted track that positions a patient inside of a sling. Mobile lifts solve that issue with wheels. They can be very cost-effective, but typically two careers are required when hoisting a patient.

Air Assisted Transfer System

The Air Assisted Transfer System or sometimes referred to as an Air Powered Transfer System, is the preferred technology with nurses. Minimal effort is needed when using these systems to move patients. From bed to gurney, a bed to OR Tables, a bed to x-ray or CT table, the Air-Powered Transfer System is a multifaceted solution. They are highly portable and can be moved with a patient as they are relocated on a stretcher or bed.

How Air Transfer Systems WorksSPH Medical Air Transfer Mat reduces friction

After the patient is securely placed on the mattress, low-pressure air pushed from an air supply will inflate the breathable transfer mattress. The air supply supports the patient comfortably and air escapes perforations in the bottom of the mattress supporting the mattress on a mobile bed of air. This reduces friction and facilitates near-effortless patient transfers. This, in turn, results in caregivers using a significant decrease in physical effort. The air patient transfer system decreases exertion and meets workplace safety guidelines.

The Benefits Push Beyond Mobility And Required Exertion

With a Single Patient Use Transfer Mattress System, there are benefits beyond eliminating injuries within the workspace. Air-assisted technology moves patients with more stability. This, in turn, reduces skin shearing and bruising during transfers. Single Patient Use Air Transfer System also eliminates costs and logistical issues that are associated with reprocessing. During typical situations, this reduces the risk of cross-contamination. During a pandemic like COVID, the benefits exceed even greater. The air-assisted technologies are also MRI compatible and vary style and width, and can accommodate patients that weigh 1000lbs.

Air Transfer Systems Can Be used Anywhere

These systems can be used in any hospital department. This is extremely useful where transfers are common and are a daily occurrence. There are also particular departments where ceiling lifts are too challenging to install. The ICU, MedSurgery, OR, Imaging Department, Transport, and Emergency Rooms are all sectors that could yield massive results from implementing these technologies. Essentially, ANYWHERE lateral patient transfers are made from one surface to another, or frequent repositions are made can benefit from their usage.

SPH Medical Air Transfer System 2021

The Multifaceted Benefits from Using Air Assisted Transfer Systems are Too Great

The results speak for themselves. Right now, this is the premier equipment in safe patient handling. These technologies are an extra pair of hands for our quickly dwindling nurse workforce, allowing more effective utilization of human resources within the bounds of the hospitals. It is also an extra measure of safety, assuring the crew isn’t taking unnecessary risks and potentially receiving musculoskeletal injuries furthering the nursing shortage. This also reduces the direct and indirect cost of these injuries, freeing up hospital budgets thousands to millions of dollars.

They also coincide with the new safety programs being required for hospitals

Other technologies like overhead lifts, mobile lifts, slider boards, and rollerboards have seen their usage, and it is time to move past these outdated technologies. They are particular and are less of an across-the-board solution. The Single Patient Use Transfer Mattress is the best solution for the nurse, the patient, and the hospital for safety, cost-effectiveness. It could make an immediate impact on the various issues surrounding the health care scene.

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