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NYU Winthrop Hospital’s Safe Patient Handling (SPH) Program and Success story
Team Members:
Carol Cohan RN, BSN, MHA, Director of Employee Health Service, Chair SPH committee;
Grace Blaney MSN, RN, CWOCN, Co-Chair SPH
Tracey Curtin BSN, RN, Co-Chair SPH
Manjula Stanislaus MSN, MHA, RNC-BC, CCRN, CMC, Clinical Nurse Educator
Karen Rivera MA, RN-BC, Clinical nurse educator
Eric Goldwurm BSHS, LPN, CIPM, Atlas Lift Tech Program Manager
Aim: To promote a discussion of safe patient handling (SPH) at NYU Winthrop Hospital, and Create awareness of the available resources & education for staff about the most efficient and safe process of moving and repositioning patients.
Background: Patients are not packages and do not come with handles, so repositioning and moving can pose a potential for injury for them and to the staff who provide their care. Due to the varying needs of patients which can include loss of balance, altered cognitive function, and different body mass Index (BMI), moving and repositioning can cause challenges for the staff. It has been reported by the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) that over 74.1% of Americans are overweight or obese (2017). On average, US hospitals recorded 6.8 work-related injuries and illnesses for every 100 full-time employees (2011). In addition, nearly half of all injuries resulting in days away from work are caused by overexertion or bodily reaction, which includes motions such as lifting, bending or reaching, which are often related to patient handling (OSHA US Bureau of Labor Statistics 2011). Injuries to healthcare workers are almost twice as many as in private industries as a whole.
Methodology: In 2010, the SPH committee originated from the NYU Winthrop Quality & Safety Council for the purpose of creating a safe patient handling policy. The committee followed trends from other state’s legislation requiring a SPH program to be in place in healthcare settings and decided to take a proactive stance in developing our own program. The initial tool utilized for the program was the pink slip transfer system which was piloted on GP3 with the help of the nursing staff, ancillary staff, and management. The pilot, lasting two months, yielded a decrease in staff injury and an increase in staff satisfaction, the pink slip transfer system program was rolled out house-wide. In 2014, NY State mandated a safe patient handling program be developed and implemented in all healthcare systems. NYU Winthrop partnered with the Atlas lift Company in order to meet this new standard and an interdisciplinary team was formed. The team included staff nurses, nursing assistants, physical therapy, patient transport, wound care, employee health, radiology, respiratory, nursing administration, and various department heads. This new SPH committee, worked closely with the Atlas Lift Tech team to implement education and provide resources for the staff to aid in delivering a Safe Patient Handling and Mobility program through bedside education. A safe patient handling policy was developed and is based on the available transfer equipment in the organization plus the addition of several new devices along with explicit instruction on how to use them. In addition, an algorithm for both the standard patient and bariatric patient was developed as well as a patient education brochure which is available for staff to use as a supplement to patient education. In an effort to sustain the program. Additionally, an online educational module was developed and placed on the organizations learning management system (LMS) for staff to view upon orientation, and annually, as part of their educational requirements. One current program being piloted by the SPH committee, on the GPs and PP3, is a raised toilet seat to support natural body mechanics for our patients and prevent total dependence on staff to rise off the toilets, which were situated at a height that was not compatible with normal sitting and rising. The sustainability of the SPH program will be augmented by a Unit Peer Leader program (UPL) which consists of staff members across multidiscipline that have received additional training in safe patient handling techniques and equipment. These UPLs will be a resource for any staff member who needs additional guidance or support with the SPH guidelines. The implementation of the UPL program was initiated to ensure the SPH program is sustainable throughout the institution.
Result: The SPH Committee collected data on scorecard training, tasks completed, lost days, staff injuries, and revenue loss related to patient handling. The combined result over 5 years from 2012 to 2017
[IMG]file://localhost/Users/egoldwurm/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png[/IMG]
We are proud to say that NYU Winthrop is one of the 1st Hospitals in NY State Insurance Fund to receive the benefit of a 2.5% insurance discount on worker’s compensation insurance premiums.
Discussion: The SPH Committee has implemented standards and practices throughout the organization and across disciplines to help improve how patients are repositioned or transferred which has helped in decreasing staff injuries, loss of work time and lost revenue. The processes put in place by the SPH committee include the Unit Peer Leader system, training upon hire for all new clinical staff and mandatory annual learning modules and skills validation program to help to maintain the sustainability of SPH program.
Team Members:
Carol Cohan RN, BSN, MHA, Director of Employee Health Service, Chair SPH committee;
Grace Blaney MSN, RN, CWOCN, Co-Chair SPH
Tracey Curtin BSN, RN, Co-Chair SPH
Manjula Stanislaus MSN, MHA, RNC-BC, CCRN, CMC, Clinical Nurse Educator
Karen Rivera MA, RN-BC, Clinical nurse educator
Eric Goldwurm BSHS, LPN, CIPM, Atlas Lift Tech Program Manager
Aim: To promote a discussion of safe patient handling (SPH) at NYU Winthrop Hospital, and Create awareness of the available resources & education for staff about the most efficient and safe process of moving and repositioning patients.
- Decrease staff injuries related to moving & repositioning by 20% by 2017
- Decrease number of lost work days by 20% for 2017
- Decrease cost of workman's compensation for the organization claims by 20% for 2017
Background: Patients are not packages and do not come with handles, so repositioning and moving can pose a potential for injury for them and to the staff who provide their care. Due to the varying needs of patients which can include loss of balance, altered cognitive function, and different body mass Index (BMI), moving and repositioning can cause challenges for the staff. It has been reported by the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) that over 74.1% of Americans are overweight or obese (2017). On average, US hospitals recorded 6.8 work-related injuries and illnesses for every 100 full-time employees (2011). In addition, nearly half of all injuries resulting in days away from work are caused by overexertion or bodily reaction, which includes motions such as lifting, bending or reaching, which are often related to patient handling (OSHA US Bureau of Labor Statistics 2011). Injuries to healthcare workers are almost twice as many as in private industries as a whole.
Methodology: In 2010, the SPH committee originated from the NYU Winthrop Quality & Safety Council for the purpose of creating a safe patient handling policy. The committee followed trends from other state’s legislation requiring a SPH program to be in place in healthcare settings and decided to take a proactive stance in developing our own program. The initial tool utilized for the program was the pink slip transfer system which was piloted on GP3 with the help of the nursing staff, ancillary staff, and management. The pilot, lasting two months, yielded a decrease in staff injury and an increase in staff satisfaction, the pink slip transfer system program was rolled out house-wide. In 2014, NY State mandated a safe patient handling program be developed and implemented in all healthcare systems. NYU Winthrop partnered with the Atlas lift Company in order to meet this new standard and an interdisciplinary team was formed. The team included staff nurses, nursing assistants, physical therapy, patient transport, wound care, employee health, radiology, respiratory, nursing administration, and various department heads. This new SPH committee, worked closely with the Atlas Lift Tech team to implement education and provide resources for the staff to aid in delivering a Safe Patient Handling and Mobility program through bedside education. A safe patient handling policy was developed and is based on the available transfer equipment in the organization plus the addition of several new devices along with explicit instruction on how to use them. In addition, an algorithm for both the standard patient and bariatric patient was developed as well as a patient education brochure which is available for staff to use as a supplement to patient education. In an effort to sustain the program. Additionally, an online educational module was developed and placed on the organizations learning management system (LMS) for staff to view upon orientation, and annually, as part of their educational requirements. One current program being piloted by the SPH committee, on the GPs and PP3, is a raised toilet seat to support natural body mechanics for our patients and prevent total dependence on staff to rise off the toilets, which were situated at a height that was not compatible with normal sitting and rising. The sustainability of the SPH program will be augmented by a Unit Peer Leader program (UPL) which consists of staff members across multidiscipline that have received additional training in safe patient handling techniques and equipment. These UPLs will be a resource for any staff member who needs additional guidance or support with the SPH guidelines. The implementation of the UPL program was initiated to ensure the SPH program is sustainable throughout the institution.
Result: The SPH Committee collected data on scorecard training, tasks completed, lost days, staff injuries, and revenue loss related to patient handling. The combined result over 5 years from 2012 to 2017
[IMG]file://localhost/Users/egoldwurm/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png[/IMG]
| The number of staff injuries decreased from 51 to 42 Workers compensation reduced from $647,000 to $368,000 |
- A decrease in the number of staff injuries related to moving and repositioning patients by 17.6%
- A reduction in patient handling worker’s compensation cost by 43.1%.
- The combined result for 2016 & 2017: Number of Lost Days decreased BY 31%.
We are proud to say that NYU Winthrop is one of the 1st Hospitals in NY State Insurance Fund to receive the benefit of a 2.5% insurance discount on worker’s compensation insurance premiums.
Discussion: The SPH Committee has implemented standards and practices throughout the organization and across disciplines to help improve how patients are repositioned or transferred which has helped in decreasing staff injuries, loss of work time and lost revenue. The processes put in place by the SPH committee include the Unit Peer Leader system, training upon hire for all new clinical staff and mandatory annual learning modules and skills validation program to help to maintain the sustainability of SPH program.
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