No lift policy

I meant - sell it to your facility/institution.

The main focus of no -lift is the "slide sheet" /"move tube" this is (would you believe) sail cloth. IT is REALLY slippery cloth that is placed under the patient. You still need to roll the patient but not as far - once rolled you put the slide sheet under them and then you pull the patient into the correct position - we are taught how to do this and minimise the stress on our backs and shoulders. Taking the cloth out again is very easy. We actually have "wardsmen" who turn our patients for us (usually big strapping blokes) but even THEY use the slide sheets. We use hoists - even on vented patients - to get them out of bed and certainly use hoists for bathing etc.

Our pts arrive to our unit in wheel chairs. We lift them into the dialysis chair, and lift them back again. If they need to use the bathroom, we lift them on and off of the toilet. Pts are never in bed in a dialysis unit. We do not have a hoyer lift.
When we did have one, pts had to arrive from which ever facility sent them with a hoyer sling already under them. If they do not have a sling available at the other facility, or they would have to come from home with a sling already in place.So, it won't do any good to have a hoyer lift anyway.

The lifting situation in dialysis is difficult. I always get help to lift, but it's not enough.

I would look at altering your chairs. Drop down sides and fold flat chairs - there are also things as transfer mats that are like the carosel thingy in the middle of the table at a chinese restruant. There are a lot of inexpensive solutions out there that will save you - the trick is to find what suits you and talk to managment about the advantages for THEM.

In Texas, there is no Workman's Comp requirment. Facilities are not held responsible financially or otherwise for injured workers. There is no financial incentive for them to invest in lifting equipment. If a worker's back is injured severely enough that the employee can no longer work, the facility lays them off or fires them. They have no reponsibility towards the worker.

I was injured on the job in 2002. My employer refused to pay for my treatment. I called several lawyers and was told there was nothing I could do. I had to pay for my treatment myself, or it would affect my credit rating. Thankfully, I recovered. I now carry personal death/dimemberment/disability insurance, which I obtained privately and pay for myself.

I did not realise it had become that bad in America.

It's not that bad in all the states. But, Texas is the only state without any Workman's Comp requirment. It's particulary bad in "right to work" states (Texas is one). Basically, that means that employment is "at will." any employee can be fired at any time, without cause.

In other states where unions and Workman's Comp exist, things are better. If I did not have to be in Texas for my husband's job, I would love to leave.

Your suggestions are good ones, Gwenith, there is just no frame-work in place here for me to try and utilize them.

Helllllo,
thanks for the information. Somehow, I never cease to be amazed at how low Bush can go. I just can't believe that any American, especially one who calls himself a Christian, could be so foul and disgusting. Surely Bush knows that Jesus wouldn't do the things to the people the Bush himself is doing!

I feel so helpless in the face of the political goings-on in America. I write to my congressmen and the president regularly, and of course that has no effect at all on how they vote. I'm just really discouraged by this country's workforce policies now days.

On another note, I didn't realize that Tx had no responsibilty for workplace acquired injuries. So if a pt. stabs you while working, it's your problem?? If you break your leg on the job, they don't pay you? No unemployment or anything? Currently I live in VA, and it is a right to work state as well, but we do have worker's comp. I really need to reconsider moving to Tx.

I have worked in a facility in Oregon with a "no lift policy", pediatric skilled nursing up to age 21 where most of the residents were quads. We used automatic lifts for most of the patients to W/C, bath gurney, prone wedges, floor. We also used "slide sheets" to reposition some of the larger youth in bed. All of the children were given a lift designation on admit; only the littlest kids <40 lbs were a one person lift, and usually only because they were too small to lift safely with the hoyer. For all others the automatic lifts were mandatory unless an emergency situation, and then we used up to 3 people to lift safely. Still personnel were injured usually because they did not follow the guidelines. One thing to point out though is that the "no lift" policy was safer for the residents; who because of their non-weight bearing status were at risk for pathological fractures, especially distal femur! Fractures were greatly reduced in this facility.

ER has a slide that we use for transfering gurney to bed and its very helpful. I would love to see chair slides as well...and see chairs with sides that come down (some wheelchairs do I know, but regular hospital patient chairs should also have this)

We might be able to selll management on some of these things if we can present them with data on how it reduces employer expense to to OJT injury.

Texas businesses are not required to carry Workers Comp...they must provide 'something' if they don't. My employer has its own program and they of course are very self serving..they pull all the strings and work hard to get out of helping their injured workers. . My hubby is union and was transfered to Texas, otherwise my choice of locale would be a unionized area where nurses have some organized method of representation. It sucks here in that respect.

Bush was wrong to allow facilities to dodge this OSHA ergonomics requirements. We all need to deluge his office with letters of rebuke...like I hope all nurses did with this overtime law thing...I sure did.

I am conservative but lately the anti worker legislation is really getting to me and I am reconsidering whom I support.