No Lift Success Story
- By Hans Sigvardsson, Betty Bogue
- Jul 01, 2004
Banner Health dramatically reduced worker's compensation costs at two facilities with the use of mechanical lifts.
MANY hospitals today find their financial health in critical condition. Increasing worker's compensation claims, an ongoing nursing shortage, higher operating costs, and reduced government funding contribute to a challenging operating prognosis. To address this situation, progressive hospitals are developing new strategies that include the mandatory use of patient lift devices. This approach to patient lifting and transferring not only reduces employee injuries and improves patient care, but also allows hospitals to save millions of dollars in worker's comp costs. By achieving a solid return on their investment in quality patient lift equipment, hospitals achieve greater financial health, while addressing the national concern of ergonomics.
"The safety and health of our nation's workforce is a priority for my administration. Together we will pursue a comprehensive approach to ergonomics," President Bush said in March 2001 when he signed a joint resolution of Congress, disapproving OSHA's ergonomics standard and, at the same time, pledging to find a solution to ergonomically related problems. That solution was introduced April 5, 2002, when OSHA unveiled a plan to reduce ergonomic injuries dramatically. Two weeks later, OSHA announced health care would be the first industry directed by specific guidelines for ergonomics.
When it comes to ergonomics, hospitals are unlike any other type of employer. They are more labor intensive and spend most of their financial resources on "human capital." Health care workers are the backbone of their business and are charged with improving the health and well-being of patients, while ensuring their own safety.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics now classifies health care patients as a direct cause of on-the-job injury. A back injury occurs every 30 minutes among health care workers in America; nursing is one of the occupations at highest risk for injury. Eighty-seven percent of nurses report low back pain, 38 percent of nurses suffer back pain or injuries severe enough to require time off from work at some point in their careers, and 44 percent of injured nurses are unable to return to the nursing profession. The American Nurses Association's 2001 Nursing World Health and Safety Survey reported 76 percent of the 4,826 nurses surveyed believe unsafe working conditions interfere with their ability to deliver quality care. Furthermore, 88 percent said health and safety concerns influence their decision to continue nursing.
Uplifting News for Hospitals
Providing appropriate patient lift and transfer equipment, and processes to support their use, is an effective strategy hospitals can implement immediately. They can reduce employee injuries and compensation claims, improve patient care and caregiver safety, and boost staff morale and productivity. The bottom line is that hospitals can get a significant ROI from their investment in patient lift systems.
Approximate cost savings can be calculated in terms of the reduction of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and complaints, especially the lower-back injuries sustained during standard manual lift-transfers. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, facilities can save an average of $27,700 each time a severe MSD is prevented. The argument can be made that money already being spent on MSDs in the form of worker's comp costs can be shifted to pay for the implementation of a no-manual-lift program--where all patient lifts are accomplished using mechanical equipment--to prevent such injuries. This can provide cost savings that fall directly to the bottom line, while eliminating the pain, suffering, and disability of injured caregivers (the most important reason to implement such a program).
One of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the United States, Banner Health operates hospitals and long-term care centers, plus offers an array of other health services in nine western and midwestern states. A few years ago, the risk management department at Banner Health's North Colorado Medical Center (NCMC) in Greeley, Colo., had a problem.
Like facilities nationwide, NCMC faced serious challenges arising from patient lifting and transfer injury:
- Rapidly growing expenses
- Permanent loss of employees because of incident-related or chronic back pain
- Increasing incident severity
- Negative impacts on employee morale
- Employee reluctance to report back pain (because of fear of reassignment)
New Equipment, New Approach
NCMC planners soon determined the only feasible solution was to eliminate all manual lifts and transfers of patients. That meant supplementing the few specialized mechanical lifts the hospital already had with a wide assortment of new, multipurpose models. But from what source? And how would the hospital deal with complex issues such as installation, training, and maintenance?
This article originally appeared in the July 2004 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.