PS1070 SARASOTA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL POLICY TITLE: SAFE PATIENT HANDLING POLICY #: EFFECTIVE DATE: REVIEWED/REVISED DATE: POLICY TYPE: Job Title of Responsible Owner: Director of Cardiac Progressive and Neurology 01.PAT.21 06/14/10 04/27/18 Clinical Non-Clinical 1 of 5 PURPOSE: POLICY STATEMENT: EXCEPTIONS: To ensure that employees use safe patient handling and movement techniques. Sarasota Memorial Health Care System wants to ensure that its patients are cared for safely, while maintaining a safe work environment for employees. To accomplish this, direct care staff on high risk patient care areas should assess high risk patient handling tasks in advance to determine the safest way to accomplish them. Additionally, mechanical lifting equipment and/or other approved patient handling aids should be used to prevent the lifting and handling of patients except when absolutely necessary, such as in a medical emergency. None DEFINITIONS: 1. High Risk Patient Handling Tasks: Patient handling tasks that have a high risk of musculoskeletal injury for staff performing the tasks. These include but are not limited to transferring tasks, lifting tasks, repositioning tasks, bathing patients in bed, making occupied beds, dressing patients, turning patients in bed, and tasks with long durations. 2. High Risk Patient care areas: Inpatient hospital units with a high proportion of dependent patients, requiring full assistance with patient handling tasks and activities of daily living. Based on the dependency level of patients and the frequency with which patients are encouraged to be out of bed. 3. Manual Lifting: Lifting, transferring, repositioning, and moving patients using a caregiver s body strength without the use of lifting equipment/aids to reduce forces on the worker s musculoskeletal structure. 4. Mechanical Patient Lifting Equipment: Equipment used to lift, transfer, reposition, and move patients.
2 of 5 5. Patient Handling Aids: Equipment used to assist in the lift or transfer process. PROCEDURE: 1. Compliance: It is duty of employees to take reasonable care of their own health and safety, as well as that of their co-workers and their patients during patient handling activities by following this policy. Non-compliance resulting in a staff injury triggers a review of staff education. 2. Patient Handling and Movement Requirements: a. Avoid hazardous patient handling and movement tasks whenever possible. If unavoidable, assess the patient carefully prior to completion. b. Use mechanical lifting devices and other approved patient handling aids for high-risk patient handling and movement tasks except when absolutely necessary, such as in a medical emergency. c. Use mechanical lifting devices and other approved patient handling aids in accordance with instructions and training. d. Assure the safety and comfort of patients during handling. 3. Training: Staff will complete and document training upon hire and as required to correct improper use/understanding of safe patient handling and movement. 4. Storage / Parking Area: The lifts will be parked in accessible areas within the unit. There will be a designated storage area for the lifts when not in use. Lifts may be parked outside a patient s room when actively being used on a patient. The equipment will be cleaned and returned to the designated storage area following usage to ensure availability for the next staff member. 5. Cleaning of Equipment: After each patient use, the equipment will be wiped down with a hospital-approved disinfectant wipe in accordance with the manufacturer guidelines. 6. Equipment Procedure: Instructions for the use of each type of equipment are available on the equipment and on the Bariatric Pulse page.
3 of 5 RESPONSIBILITY: Delegation of Authority and Responsibility: 1. Department Director shall: a. Support the implementation of this policy. 2. Managers shall: Ensure mechanical lifting devices and other equipment/aids are available, maintained regularly, in proper working order, and stored conveniently and safely. a. Ensure employees complete initial training upon hire. b. Ensure compliance with safe patient handling and movement policy by all staff. c. Refer all staff reporting injuries due to patient handling tasks to Employee Health. 3. Employees shall: Ensure that each patient is assessed to identify appropriateness for mechanical lift equipment/aid. a. Notify supervisor of any injury sustained while performing patient handling tasks. b. Notify supervisor of need for re-training in use of mechanical lifting devices, other equipment/aids and lifting/moving techniques. c. Notify supervisor of mechanical lifting devices in need of repair. d. Contact Biomed for any equipment failure. 4. Biomed shall: a. Maintain mechanical lifting devices in proper working order. REFERENCE(S): American Nurses Association (ANA). (2013). Safe Patient Handling and Mobility Inter-professional National Standards, Nursebooks: Silver Springs, MD. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). (2017). Safe Patient Handling and Mobility (SPHM). Retrieved fromhttps://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/safepatient/default.html
4 of 5 REVIEWING AUTHORS: ATTACHMENT(S): Julie Polaszek, MSN, RN, CNML, Director Cardiac and Neurology Karen Reynolds, DNP, CNS-BC, FGNLA Lotta Mathiasson, BSN, RN, Nursing Professional Development Jordan Solich, BSN, RN, Nurse in Professional Development, 7WT None
5 of 5 APPROVALS: Signatures indicate approval of the new or reviewed/revised policy. Committees/Sections/Departments: Date Clinical Practice Council 4/5/18 Responsible Owners: Julie Polaszek, Director 4/10/18 Chief Nursing Officer: Connie Andersen, CNO 4/10/18 Chief of Medical Operations: (if clinical policy or appropriate) Chief of Staff: (if clinical policy or appropriate) Medical Executive Committee: (if clinical and review requested by CMO and COS) Chief Executive Officer: David Verinder, CEO 4/13/18