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Air Powered Transfer and Positioning System
Categoriesair transfer systems

Lateral Transfers and The Risk of Positioning a Patient in Hospitals

by sphmedicaladmin

You may think hospitals are safe workplaces, but they are actually among the most dangerous. In fact, a study by OSHA found that, at hospitals, 7 out of 100 full-time employees sustain an injury. Medical staff in hospitals must perform strenuous physical activity all day long. In both the ICU and OR, the medical team handles lateral transfers of patients who require total care. It is not unusual for a nurse to transfer a patient from bed to CT table, OR table, gurney, and back again. Nursing staff perform this task dozens of times, along with patient repositioning, turning, and boosting, making it clear why nurses are prone to repositioning injuries.

What are lateral transfers?

Lateral transfers and patient repositioning involve moving a patient from one surface to another, like a bed to a gurney. Most of this work is done manually by a few medical staff members, placing them at risk for injury. In fact, the American Nursing Association estimates that nurses move an average of 1.8 tons per eight-hour shift. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the high movement level among medical professionals puts them at risk for 31.1 percent more musculoskeletal disorders. Due to the friction between sheets and boards, this makes this task unsafe. Improper positioning can lead to injury or even death for the patient. All departments of the hospital perform transfer and repositioning tasks. The intensive care unit, emergency room, radiology, medical units, and surgery are among them.

The Costs and Consequences of Injury Due to Lateral Transfers

The consequences of occupational musculoskeletal injuries are detrimental to nurses. Beside the cost of medical expenses, litigation, disability compensation, and nursing injuries are also expensive due to absenteeism, chronic pain, functional disability, and turnover. Approximately 20% of nurses leave direct patient care jobs for safety reasons. According to statistics, the healthcare industry spends roughly $20 billion annually on direct and indirect costs associated with back injuries. In addition, employees who suffer from pain and fatigue may be less attentive, less productive, more prone to further injuries, and may consequently have a negative effect on the health and safety of others.

The Federal Government is aware of the increased risk of repositioning injury and nursing injury in the medical industry. In 2015, the national government passed new legislation governing patient handling to protect nurses and healthcare workers. This Act aims to make healthcare facilities a safer place to work for caregivers.

There are options to reduce forces and the risk of injuries, making it safe for medical staff. One option is air transfer devices. In this article, we will define the devices and highlight their benefits.

What are Air-Powered Lateral Transfer Systems?

An air-powered system is used to elevate patients in bed, reducing another potentially hazardous task known as “boosting a patient” or repositioning. The system comprises a hose, an inflatable pad, an easy-to-use air supply, and a power cord. A pump is inserted into the pad when the patient is positioned on the air-powered lateral transfer system. As soon as the mattress is inflated, the patient can be moved. The air-powered systems include straps that hold the patient securely during lateral transfers. They have convenient handles that make it easy for nurses to transfer patients between surfaces.

In most cases, patients’ lifting or pulling weight is reduced to about ten percent of their body weight. There is virtually no friction under the pad when moving from one surface to another, so moving patients can be done with minimal caregiver exertion. This reduces nurse injuries.

Benefits of SPH Medical’s Air Transfer System

A hospital’s primary concern is protecting the long-term health of its employees. Air-powered systems provide a solution that requires less labor from hospital staff. Two staff members can transfer a patient safely rather than waiting for at least 4 staff members to perform the transfer. The air-powered systems also provide a safer, less strenuous, and more dignified way for patients to be handled. The Air Transfer System allows patients to float between surfaces easily. There is less risk of bruises, bumps, or manual handling during transfers. Using these systems can drastically reduce the amount of stress on nursing staff. This reduces the risk of injuries from predictable and repetitive patient handling tasks. Healthcare facilities are investing more in disposable pads considering the recent COVID-19 pandemic concerns.

Single Patient Use Air Transfer Mattress

Having a single patient use air transfer mattress is the backbone of any safe patient handling program. Why? It solves the high-risk and high-frequency manual patient handling tasks. This mat aims to reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections by reducing cross-contamination and solving the laundry dilemma (things frequently get lost in the laundry or take days/weeks to return to the unit!) It creates a thin air cushion beneath an inflated mattress that reduces friction and allows patients to float. The benefits include:

  • Inventory management is easier
  • Accessible to nurses
  • Eliminates the need to do laundry
  • Reduce the risk of infection and cross-contamination
  • Proven and cost-effective.
  • Breathable and can remain under patients for a long time

Conclusion

Transferring patients is one of the most common tasks performed by hospital personnel. This can be tricky work, especially when the forces involved in these lateral transfers are high, posing a significant risk of musculoskeletal injury for caregivers. Caregivers can avoid injury by using friction-reducing devices like the SPH Medical Air Transfer and Positing System. These devices reduce the force required to complete the transfer and make this task much safer.

Reduce Nursing Injuries
CategoriesPatient Handling

Reducing Risk of Nursing Injury During Lateral Transfer

by sphmedicaladmin

Nurses Perform Transfers

It is a scenario that plays out in the hospital setting every day. A patient must move from a bed to a gurney for treatment or testing. Once the patient reaches his or her destination, it is time for another lateral transfer. SPH Medical is lowering the risk of nursing injury during lateral transfers.

When a patient is mobile, this is not too difficult. In many cases, nurses and other medical professionals have to move the full weight of the patient without any assistance. According to the American Nurses Association, the average nurse can transfer 1.8 tons during an eight-hour shift. As a result, the most common nursing injury complaint involves musculoskeletal damage. Nursing staff members are almost twice as likely to suffer from back injuries than employees in other industries.

Increased Risk to Nursing Injury

Two trends are making this problem even worse. First, fewer people are going into careers as nurses or nursing assistants. Second, American patients are getting heavier and come to the hospital with lower levels of mobility. The combination of these two developments means that fewer staff members may be trying to move more weight each day. In fact nurses are more likely to manually lift move or transfer a 300 pound patient with little to no assistance. In the construction world, a contractor would get a fork lift or the appropriate hoist to lift this much weight and both OSHA and their safety guidelines may require it!

For the medical staff, this extra effort leads to injuries of the lower back, neck and shoulders. These are not low frequency tasks. In 2017, nursing staff reported almost 20,000 musculoskeletal injuries that required days away from work or lost work days. For the health care industry, injuries lead to increased insurance claims, workers’ compensation costs, and a long list of indirect costs that affect staff morale, patient satisfaction and more.

Legislative Solutions to Reduce Nursing Injuries

In response to this situation, states like California and Washington have passed legislation to prevent workplace injuries in the health care field. These states make it a requirement that every hospital develops a plan for safe patient handling. In 2015, federal legislators introduced the Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act in both the House and Senate to make this a national policy. Unfortunately, they have not acted on the bill at this time.

The good news is that facilities that introduce comprehensive safety measures around patient handling and lateral transfer benefit from the program. While there is an up-front cost to the new equipment, there are long-term savings for the institution. An $800,000 safe lifting program implemented by Stanford University Medical Center resulted in a 2.2-million dollar savings over five years. They saw a drop in workers’ compensation claims as well as a lower incidence of pressure ulcers in patients with the resulting treatment costs. Members of SPH Medical’s team were involved with Stanford’s well recognized program from the very beginning.

The Benefits of Air-Assisted Lateral Transfer Systems

Historically, the the most common means to transfer patients from gurney to bed was by using a transfer sheet or plastic slide board. Both of these modalities can cause friction and put undue pressure on the patient and over exertion or physical strain on the medical staff. Thankfully, there are devices available that can ease this process for everyone involved and significantly reduce the risk of nursing injury.

At first glance, an air-assisted device like the Air Powered Lateral Transfer system looks like a regular air mattress. However, there is a fundamental difference. When inflated, air continually blows into the mattress. Small holes in the bottom create a layer of air that minimizes friction. According to the makers of the Hovermatt system, this air cushion reduces the force required to move a patient by 80 to 90 percent and greatly reduces the risk of a nursing injury. A task that needed four medical staff members can be done safely by two.

Because the system can sit underneath a patient at all times, it will also reduce the risk of a repositioning injury. Nursing staff frequently must boost up a patient who has slipped down in his or her bed. An air-assisted transfer system makes this a stress-free task.

Using an air-assisted transfer system is beneficial to overall patient care. Transfers are faster and safer. These qualities matter when a patient is dealing with pain. Minimizing unnecessary motion keeps patients more comfortable.

SPH Medical specializes in equipment to promote handling patients safely and efficiently. Incorporating air powered lateral transfer solutions will benefit patients, staff and the entire medical organization by reducing costs, improving efficiencies, and most importantly improving patient care and patient satisfaction. Contact SPH Medical today to reduce nursing injuries in your facility.

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