Large Volume Pipettes

I am working with a lab that uses large volume pipettes (serological pipettes, 50mL) under a lab hood. They asked if I knew of some ergonomic solutions to alleviate the awkward posture created by using the long pipettes underneath the hood. I searched online for different kinds of pipettes with that capacity and didn't find much. Have you encountered this issue in the past? Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!

Spiking Irrigation bags

The nurses in our orthopedic surgery OR report Spiking anywhere from 4 to 20 Irrigation bags (3000 cc) per patient at the rate of approximately 6-8 patients per day. With the repetitive nature of the task and the force required, concerns have been raised regarding shoulder and other upper extremity injuries.
Just wondering if anyone has had similar experiences, any ideas on managing it, different ideas on Spiking? Thanks.

Electronic charting for nurses

Our hospital is building a new tower and is in the design process phase. They want to move to a model that decentralizes the typical nurses' stations and go with documentation "cock-pits" right outside the patient rooms. There would be windows so the staff can see into the patients' rooms while they are doing their computer charting. There has been a great deal of controversy over whether these stations should be sitting or standing. Everyone wants the option to sit down to document, but that means using high stools for the standing work stations. I have encountered other high stools in some of our current nursing units, and many of the older nurses do not like them because of hip/knee/back issues and lack of proper foot support. These stations in the new facility are meant to be the nurse's primary work area so they need to be comfortable. The other issues is the hallways are only 8 ft. wide, with the cock-pit recessed, but our public health department is not crazy about chairs/stools migrating out into the hallways. I am curious what the official stance is on using high stools in various areas and if there is any research that discusses the pros/cons of using these stools. Our Facilities Dept. is asking me for evidence to support one direction vs. another. What experience do you have with nursing documentation areas, sit vs. stand, chairs vs. high stools, etc.?

ecmo carts in hospitals

In our hospital our ECMO nurses (average age 50's) have requested Ergo assistances re: pushing the ECMO carts. The ECMO cart weighs about 425# and is pushed long distances between buildings/units in our system. They have many components and vision is also blocked during transport of the cart. I am interested in any ergo redesigns of this cart or processes, etc that have been effective in reducing the weight and/or improving vision while handling these carts. Purchasing addtional carts is not an option at this time.

thanks

Bridget

Ortho/Neuro and devices

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

New Zealand Patient Handling Guidelines

I came across a great patient handling website today from the Accident Compensation Corporation in New Zealand. The lift program they have created is called "Liten Up" and you may download the complete guide on the website. The FAQ section is also quite useful. Here is the link: New Zealand Patient Handling Guidelines

pt handling injuries in Radiology

Our radiology group is in denial that pt handling injuries do not exist even tough there are high injuries from doing portable x-rays at the bedside to transferring patients from w/c onto imaging table.
1. Any solutions for reducing injuries in the upper extremities from pushing the x-ray cassette underneath our patients?
2. Any suggetions (besides $ and injury rates) for getting senior management to buy in or even acknowledge that their staff are getting hurt from handling their patients?
3. Does anyone know of any total-assist lift for MRI area?
Thanks!