Portal Offers Healthcare Professionals Help in Starting, Sustaining a Safe Lifting Program

The articles include such safe lifting program details as assessing patients, selecting lifts for patients with special needs, infection control and how to calculate the return-on-investment of a formal program.

Designed for nurses and safe patient handling committee members, the articles were produced by portal sponsor Liko North America, which manufactures safe lifting equipment, to inform hospital employees about the importance of safe lifting in all aspects of patient care. The series details:

• Selecting Lifts for Patients with Special Needs - Special needs patients, such as elderly, morbidly obese or orthopedic patients, require the correct lift or sling to safely move them throughout the hospital. This article explains the proper lift to use depending on the need of the patient.
• Safe Lifting: The Assessment Imperative - This article reviews the general guidelines for safe patient handling and the importance of a routine assessment of ergonomic hazards and the patient’s functional ability, level of assistance and mental status.
• Infection Control for Lifts and Slings - In order to ensure patient safety during the lifting process, it is important that lifts and slings are clean, decontaminated and disinfected. This article details the importance of infection control when using lifts and slings.
• Safe Patient Handling Programs: How to Calculate Return on Investment - Implementing safe handling programs in hospitals not only reduces patient-handling injuries but also significantly cuts the direct and indirect costs that coincide with lifting injuries. This article explains how facility managers can calculate their ROI, which results in reducing expenses significantly.

The articles also review the general guidelines for implementing safe patient handling programs, including the importance of choosing the right lift for every patient and turning the need for assessment into an every day habit.