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Air Assisted Transfer System Makes an Immediate Impact on Injury Rates

by sphmedicaladmin

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.

CategoriesPatient Handling

Air Transfer Mat Solves Lateral Transfer and Positioning Risk in Hospitals

by sphmedicaladmin

Solving Lateral Transfer and Positioning Risk in Hospitals

Nurses, certified nursing assistants, and other healthcare workers constantly move, transfer, and reposition patients and residents during their workdays. Needless to say, the repetitive lifting and moving of people to and from beds, chairs and bathtubs can wreak havoc on caregivers’ health. Today, mechanical lift aids, an air transfer mat and other technologies help reduce the risk of injuries to caregivers and patients alike. However, many facilities continue to transfer and position patients manually, assuming that draw sheets and other methods are safe enough. In reality, lateral transfers cause countless repositioning injuries and other nursing injuries every year.

Increased Risk of Injury from Manual Patient Handling Tasks

Patients and healthcare workers alike are often injured during manual patient handling tasks, including when transferring patients laterally from point to point. According to OSHA, healthcare workers are seven times as likely to develop musculoskeletal disorders than workers in other industries. Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare workers face among the highest rates of musculoskeletal injury from overexertion. Across all industries, 33 of every 10,000 workers face such risks; in the healthcare industry, 68 of every 10,000 workers do. Additionally, patients are at increased risk of injury from such transfers and other activities. Every year, approximately 440,000 hospital patients die from hospital errors, injuries, accidents and infections, and Medicare patients have a one in four chance of being injured, harmed or killed after being admitted to the hospital.

Risks to Patients

Total care patients – those who are completely immobile and unable to move– must be moved, transferred and repositioned continually by caregivers. Throughout the day, they may be moved from toilet to chair, chair to bed, bathtub to chair and to and from other areas of a facility. Additionally, such patients must be moved from side to side in bed, lifted back up after slipping down in bed and even moved around while their beds are being made.

Every time a healthcare worker manually transfers a patient, they face an increased risk of being injured. Caregivers must often maneuver them from awkward angles and positions, increasing the risk of mishaps. The process is often uncomfortable for patients at the very least, making them dread any time they must be moved and making life more stressful in general.

Risks to Healthcare Workers

Healthcare workers bear the brunt of the risk of injury when laterally transferring patients without the aid of advanced technologies. Because of the obesity epidemic, patients are larger than ever, further increasing the risk of injury. Manual patient handling tasks contribute to countless injuries and chronic conditions among healthcare workers every year, including sprains, strains and slipped disks. Over time, injuries to the low back and shoulders often develop in those who must repetitively move and transfer patients.

According to research performed by Dr. William Marras of Ohio State’s Spine Research Institute, vertebral discs are avascular and depend upon the vertebrae above and below for nourishment and to remain healthy. Due to overexertion, small microfractures in the vertebral discs develop over time and prevent the disc from receiving the required nourishment. Continued overexertion then may result in a severe or career ending back injury. A seemingly “safe” manual patient handling task like a lateral transfer may just be the proverbial straw that broke the camels back.

Hospitals and other facilities face increased costs because of overexertion and injury among nurses and other healthcare professionals, including disability reimbursements and medical expenses. Injuries from manual patient handling cause higher turnover rates and increased absenteeism among healthcare workers. One study revealed that up to 20% of nurses who leave the industry do so because of the risks they face.

Protect Caregivers and Patients with an Air Transfer Mat

Mechanical solutions for lifting, transferring and repositioning patients are more advanced and readily available than ever. By investing in air-powered lateral transfer devices like and air transfer mat, facilities can dramatically decrease the risk of injuries among healthcare workers and patients. Such devices rely on ergonomics to ensure that they suit workers’ capabilities, reducing strain on their bodies. Mechanical lifts with slings, lifts that assist with standing, mechanical transfer aids and other devices go a long way toward protecting residents and caregivers.

When transferring patients laterally, nurses and other caregivers often pull them from bed to gurney with a draw sheet, or they might pull the patient on a sheet, sliding them across a plastic board. Either way, there’s still too much friction, and injuries can easily occur. Today, air-powered lateral transferring devices are the gold standard for reducing the risk of injuries and other problems. These devices use a thin layer of air beneath an inflated mattress to “float” patients from point to point, making the process easier, safer and more efficient for all.

SPH Medical supplies today’s top air-powered patient transfer solutions, allowing facilities like hospitals to reduce the risk of injuries to patients and healthcare workers. Products like AirPal and HoverMatt significantly reduce the risk of nursing injury and repositioning injury; in turn, employee downtime, absenteeism, disability expenses and other issues decrease, allowing facilities to maintain productivity while keeping costs in check. Today, the CDC recommends one patient lift device per eight immobile patients, and air-powered transfer devices are among the most useful and flexible options. Find one that suits the needs of your facility by shopping SPH Medical today.

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