Back breaker / ergonomics

[chinacatsunflower]

i work at a cbrf and they put the "beds" of some residents (that can't walk, transfer, etc) on the floor. ....like just the box spring and the mattress. it's awful having to break your back to turn them (to change them as they are incontinent as well) but a guaranteed back breaker to try to get them up to their wheelchair in the morning. in a recent meeting we were told break your back or find a new job pretty much in those same words.

i tried doing a little research and what they are doing, it appears, is not illegal. crank beds to hospital beds to ....beds on the floor. how awesome is this not!!!!

has anyone else had this experience?

you would like osha would have the power to fix this. we only get one spine...

[northernguy]

I have heard that some facilities are doing this for high fall risk residents in order to avoid injuries. I guess its a trade off, they are trading the physical well being of the staff for increased safety of the resident.

If I was you I would start looking for another job, wrecking your back is a non starter, regardless of the potential benefit to the resident. CNAs already put enough wear and tear on their backs under normal circumstances.

[fuzzywuzzy, CNA]

Yeah... that's no good. You would think that even if it's legal, they'd still want hospital beds in order to avoid having to pay workman's comp all the time.

[Mike R, ADN, BSN, RN]

Does the facility offer lift equipment with slings?

[AJ_427]

The bed thing is a big problem for me too. I work with disabled and most of them can't really move. If a resident can sit up, crawl or walk then they have to have their bed in the lowest position. When they have a BM and it takes me a while to clean them up, my back kills me afterwards. If the bed has a manual crank then I don't lower it because to me it's a waste of time. If it has the remote control to move it up then I do it.

What I do sometimes (I'm not really suppose to do it) is I will put my knees on their beds so I'm in a lower position and my back is not curved as much.

You know the feeling when you get home and you lay down for the first time in your bed and it feels like someone is sticking needles in your back? Yeah, I get those a lot. Especially after night shift.

The thing is that we have to protect our residents. IF there is a resident who can't move in bed (even from side to side) there is NO reason for the bed to be in the lowest position (try rolling 300 lb man when their bed is around knee height). If there is a possibility of them falling then the bed should be at the lowest position. Just recently, one of my resident fell and if his bed wasn't at the lowest position, he would have cracked opened his head. Electric beds for all my residents would be nice.

[northernguy]

Why wouldnt floor mats, bed alarms, and other measures be sufficient for the patient's safety. The OP stated some of these people were on turn schedules, so its not like they are ambulatory and can quickly get up before anyone can get there.