We are in the midst of purchasing more equipment for our Safe Patient Handling initiative and are setting up a vendor fair to evaluate products.
We presently have the usual sit/stand and total lifts, lateral air device and repositioning sheets. The "heavy surgical" units such as the orthopaedic/neuro unit or OB report difficulty using the standard equipment; several of the reasons include the location of the surgical site(s), numerous IV's/hookups, acute pain increased by contact/pressure, patients who are very groggy, are on heavy medication dosages and/or have massive muscle bulk. Usually the patient requires 3-4 people for repositioning, getting from bed to chair etc.; this fits into our category for needing to use devices/equipment.
Any suggestions on vendors and/or equipment specific to the above population needss or is there a particular acuity/staffing level that we can reference to improve our education/training and equipment efforts as well as our outcomes on these units?
Thanks for anyone's comments.
Kathy
Kathleen S. Wolf, OTR, CRC
Return to Work & Rehabilitation Case Manager
Waukesha Memorial Hospital, Waukesha WI
Email: kathy.wolf@phci.org
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2 comments:
Hi Kathy, Here are my 2cents:
1. OB -- Have you look into the half-hovermatt to help slide patients? www.hovermatt.com. Also, for the post-partum moms or post-c-section moms, our L and D staff like the "Stedy" by Arjo. The only down side is that it has a 265 weight capacity.
2. Other types of patients you mentioned-- how about using the "chair" mode built-in the bed to simulate "sitting in a chair" until the pt is stronger and more appropriate to move to the actual chair. I know, i.e. our neuro ICU, use the total-lift to get pts out of bed, these pts have tubes coming out of all directions. The nurses actually told me that the lift helps because it does the lifting and they can focus on the lines.
3. Orthopaedic -- Our unit actually recently purchased a hovermatt and hoverjack for lateral transfer and to lift pt off the floor. The staff said that these devices help with pts who are on hip precautions and cannot be in a seated position in the sling.
4. Eduation/monitoring -- an ongoing challenge in my opinion. We really start using the coaches, who are the trainers for their units, to assist with training. We also do a show-n-tell at Nursing Orientations. Third, we started to have quarterly luncheon meetings where all coaches can meet each other. A topic related to safe patient handling will be choosen as the topic of discussion during that luncheon. We just held our first one-day coaches' conference, where different speakers talked about relevant issues. All the coaches got to meet others. Feedback was very positive. Lastly, the coaches also do monthly audit on supplies and other related issues. Manager has to sign it so that he or she would know what is going on. Some coaches even shared success or challenging stories on the audit. The audit is faxed to me so I keep copies of it and address any issues.
Hope this helps.
Yeu-Li Yeung
Our OB department has beds that the bottom half of the bed "breaks away" and stirrups pull up from the side of the bed. There for the patient is in the same bad for the entire time they are in the hospital for a normal delivery. Our OB staff really like this option as they are not trying to transfer patients after an epideral, etc. If you would like more information on the type of bed and vendor let me know.
Carla Berscheit, OT
Bellin Health Systems
Green Bay, WI
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