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ANA's Safe Patient Handling & Movement Standards
Did you know that according to the Health & Safety Survey done by
the American Nurses Association in 2011, 62% of respondents
indicated that suffering a disabling musculoskeletal injury was one of
their top 3 safety concerns? And 80% of nurses reported working
despite experiencing frequent musculoskeletal pain?
ANA's Official Position
In order to establish a safe environment for nurses and patients, ANA supports actions and
policies that result in the elimination of manual patient handling.
ANA Safe Patient Handling & Movement National Standards 2013
1. Create a Culture of Safety
2. Implement and Sustain a SPHM Program
3. Incorporate Prevention through Design to Provide a Safe Environment of Care
4. Select, Install, and Maintain Technology
5. Establish a System for Education, Training and Maintaining Competence
6. Incorporate Patient Centered Assessment, Care Planning, and Use of Technology
7. Include SPHM in Reasonable Accommodation and Post Injury Return to Work
8. Establish a Comprehensive Evaluation Program
http://www.nursingworld.org/sphm
Myth: Proper body mechanics (including the use of gait belts) prevent patient handling injuries.
Reality: Decades of research shows that "proper" body mechanics are not an effective way to
reduce injuries. There is no such thing as safe manual lifting.
Myth: It’s much faster to manually move healthcare recipients than to take the time to get
SPHM technology.
Reality: If SPHM technology is located conveniently, accessing it will not take a long time. It is
often more time-consuming to round up a team of colleagues to assist with manual lifting than it is
to get the SPHM technology.
http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/WorkplaceSafety/Healthy-WorkEnvironment/SafePatient/ANA-Resources/SPHM-Trifold-Brochure.pdf
Is It Really Faster to Use SPH Equipment?
One of our safe patient handling partners
decided to test this. The focus for this study
was directly on the task of
repositioning/boosting and what the time
comparison was for staff to utilize the
equipment for boosting/repositioning versus
performing a manual transfer for this.
According to a summary statement issued
by the facility, "Boosting and repositioning a patient is the number one patient handling injury in
(our) system. Manually boosting and repositioning patients increases the skin shear and friction to
already fragile skin.
A time study was completed on 6+ different patient care units throughout (our) system to evaluate
the average length of time it takes for 1 staff to use the ceiling lift for boosting or repositioning
patients vs. finding and waiting for assistance from another staff member(s) to help manually
boost or reposition a patient.
The results demonstrate that it takes on average, 3 minutes and 15 seconds less time to use the
ceiling lift independently to reposition a patient than to manually boost or reposition a patient with
assistance from another staff member. This is due to the extra amount of time required to wait for
help. An additional measure that was not included in this study is the amount of time that it takes
staff to refocus on what they were doing prior to the interruption to assist. This is averaged at 10
minutes. This combined with the time required of both staff to reposition a patient, it is clear that it
takes more time to manually boost or reposition a patient.
Use SPH equipment for all boosting or repositioning as it is the safest and most efficient practice
for both patient and staff. Using a repo sheet with a lift reduces the shear to patient’s skin
significantly, takes less time, and reduces the weight and awkward posture required to lift the
patient."
We appreciate their work and thank them for their efforts. Good job!
Are there "resistors" in your facility that could benefit from hearing these results? Remember the
myth out there, that it's faster to manually move than to take time to use SPH equipment.
Fun Facts
The pilgrims arrived in North America in December 1620. They celebrated the first
Thanksgiving Day in the fall of 1621 at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
In 1789, President George Washington became the first president to proclaim a Thanksgiving
holiday, when, at the request of Congress, he proclaimed November 26, a Tuesday, as a day of
national thanksgiving for the U.S. Constitution. However, it was not until 1863, when President
Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to fall on the last Thursday of November, that the modern
holiday was celebrated nationally.
In 1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed Thanksgiving to a week earlier than usual. He
did so to make the Christmas shopping season longer and thus stimulate the economy of the
state. There was a tremendous outpouring of public disapproval over the next two years so, in
1941 he admitted his mistake and officially declared the fourth Thursday in November a national
holiday for Thanksgiving.
The first Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days!
http://www.thanksgivingnovember.com/thanksgiving-facts.html
Happy Thanksgiving to our customers and friends!