Nurses continue to be injured at an alarming rate compared to other professions. With an increasing retirement population of baby boomers and now skilled nurses leaving the workforce for retirement our hospitals are facing a knowledge and skill gap that is difficult to replace. Safe Patient Handling efforts by many hospitals have allowed Nurses to work safely, longer.

The CDC and NiOSH have developed a web page that provides a wide variety of links and resources related to Safe Patient Handling and injury prevention.

Here is an excerpt from the CDC’s website:

Patient Handling Hazards

Rates of musculoskeletal injuries from overexertion in healthcare occupations are among the highest of all U.S. industries. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that in 2014, the rate of overexertion injuries averaged across all industries was 33 per 10,000 full time workers. By comparison, the overexertion injury rate for hospital workers was twice the average (68 per 10,000), the rate for nursing home workers was over three times the average (107 per 10,000), and the rate for ambulance workers was over five times the average (174 per 10,000).1 The single greatest risk factor for overexertion injuries in healthcare workers is the manual lifting, moving and repositioning of patients, residents or clients, i.e., manual patient handling.

The CDC resource page can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/safepatient/

About SPH Medical, Inc

SPH Medical is a leading provider of clinical education and solutions to help hospitals reduce the risk of staff and patient injuries and their associated costs. SPH Medical focuses on three key areas; education, safe patient handling, and infection prevention.

Contact SPH Medial today to help mobilize patient safely, implement early patient mobility programs, improve outcomes and reduce the risk of injury to both patients and staff.

www.sphmedical.com
[email protected]
Tel: 1-844-3-SPHMED