two people for hoyer lift-why?

Nursing Students CNA/MA

Updated:   Published

I see on here that many people have to have two people in the room to perform a hoyer lift on a resident. I do not understand this. Why do you need two people?

As long as the sling is positioned properly and you are using the right size there is really no risk to the resident that I can see.

Our facility does not have this policy and I can't understand why this is even a policy?

It just seems like a rule that is set up to be broken!

Can someone enlighten me!?

Specializes in LTC, Memory loss, PDN.

You need two people, because stuff happens. Pt.'s will choke, vomit, have a seizure, or whatever else you cannot imagine.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/urology.

My last facility had the policy that the hoyer lift was a 2-person job, but when I had to use it no1 was ever around :( Its scary & dangerous trying to operate it alone. Thank God that no one ever got hurt those few times when I did operate it alone, but still..its not safe for you or the resident.

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Specializes in LTC, Home Health, Hospice.

Any time you are lifting a patient who is unsteady, you should have two people...1) for your safety..your back! 2) residents safety

for Hoyer lift/transfers...pure safety issue, to many chances of resident getting hurt, head banging, feet banging, "poop" dribble, etc...It is just plain safer to have 2 people, it helps with positioning in wc or shower chair or to bed.

2 people assist is like you wearing glasses, you need them to be safe!

Remember, Safety is key..you need to protect your back at all times in all ways and if you are transferring by yourself, then you are using your body in the negative way and once your back goes, so do you...food for thought.

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Specializes in LTC, Home Health, Hospice.

Plus.....IT'S AN EXTRA SET OF EYES JUST IN CASE YOU ARE ACCUSED OF SOMETHING HAPPENING TO THE PATIENT..REMEMBER THE FIRST RULE OF NURSING.....C.....Y......A.......(COVER YOUR A$$)

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Specializes in Trauma acute surgery, surgical ICU, PACU.

I took care of a pt who died in our trauma step-down as a result of severe fractures she got from falling out of a hoyer at a nursing home. Turned out the sling hadn't been pushed properly into the slots on the lift arm. The CNA who had taken the short cut that day and lifted her alone to get it done faster was absolutely devastated.

I have no knowledge of what (if any) disciplinary action the CNA faced, but in this case the family were understanding about it being an accident - they were the ones who wanted to hurry as they were taking their mom out for a family outing - and also she was elderly and in very poor health. But still.

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I think a family member counts as a "second person" if they are strong and able (and willing) to steady the resident while the CNA works the controls. I have done this before and it seems to be fine.

Any lift transfer should definitely have 2 people. There are so many things that can go wrong! Sometimes I get everything set up myself, and then just get a helper for the actual transfer.

I just want to add that asking for help is a vital part of being a CNA. When I first started I had very bad interpersonal and communication skills. Several times I was so intimidated by the other CNAs who seemed so busy and impatient with me, that I hurt myself trying to transfer residents myself rather than ask for help. Some of the CNAs seemed to think that I should be able to do those transfers myself, and one of them actually did it herself for me, rather than help me. She's now on light duty for hurting her back permanently. Now I am one of the senior CNAs on my shift, and I make a point not only to ask for help when I need it, but to show up and offer help to the others when I know that they need it, as part of my routine. We work together well, and no one feels overworked.

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Specializes in CICU, radiology, psych.
VivaLasViejas said:
It's for both staff and resident safety. Generally, if you're using a Hoyer it's because the patient/resident is very weak and immobile, and many are obese as well. How are you going to prevent injury if something goes sideways---the patient gets agitated and starts struggling, the sling breaks, the machine stops working? Have you ever had a 300-lb person fall on you? Believe me, it's worth it to have that second person in there, even if only as a "spotter" to help you position the patient correctly over the chair or bed and prevent them from feeling like they're twisting in thin air.

I so agree.

If it can happen, it will. (eventually):up:

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Specializes in CICU, radiology, psych.
dicecream said:
I think a family member counts as a "second person" if they are strong and able (and willing) to steady the resident while the CNA works the controls. I have done this before and it seems to be fine.

Any lift transfer should definitely have 2 people. There are so many things that can go wrong! Sometimes I get everything set up myself, and then just get a helper for the actual transfer.

I just want to add that asking for help is a vital part of being a CNA. When I first started I had very bad interpersonal and communication skills. Several times I was so intimidated by the other CNAs who seemed so busy and impatient with me, that I hurt myself trying to transfer residents myself rather than ask for help. Some of the CNAs seemed to think that I should be able to do those transfers myself, and one of them actually did it herself for me, rather than help me. She's now on light duty for hurting her back permanently. Now I am one of the senior CNAs on my shift, and I make a point not only to ask for help when I need it, but to show up and offer help to the others when I know that they need it, as part of my routine. We work together well, and no one feels overworked.

I'm glad to hear your there for your team members and advocate a safe environment. Now that your one of the most experienced staff everyone will look to you for guidance and it sounds like they have a great resource. Just be careful with considering family members assistants, if something went wrong and they got injured, your workplace would have a huge risk management disaster. They are not trained CNA's, RN's, or LPN's nor are they employee's and that would probably be a lawyers first but not only thing he or she would come up with.

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At a former facility, the daughter of one of the residents was a nurse practitioner with quite a bit of experience in the field. She never wanted her dad (who required a HOYER) to have to wait to go to bed, so she would regularly take him out of the dining room (all the CNAs were busy feeding), take him back to his room, go find the Hoyer, and then put him in bed by herself...

...and management actually allowed this!!!

Where's the horrified icon? Oh, wait, here it is --> :eek:

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg.
dicecream said:
I think a family member counts as a "second person" if they are strong and able (and willing) to steady the resident while the CNA works the controls. I have done this before and it seems to be fine.

I somehow doubt that most family members are trained to operate a hoyer lift, and I also doubt that a lawyer will be able to adequately defend your case if you pull something like that. Besides, I can only imagine how downright awkward and weird it be to walk in and ask a family member to assist with a hoyer transfer.

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You're right. That does sound dumb. I guess I was new and didn't think about it much. It was actually the family member who offered to help when I said I needed a second person and she seemed to know what she was doing so I went along with it. Well, I won't do that in the future. :)

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg.
dicecream said:
You're right. That does sound dumb. I guess I was new and didn't think about it much. It was actually the family member who offered to help when I said I needed a second person and she seemed to know what she was doing so I went along with it. Well, I won't do that in the future. ?

I've done my fair share of stupid stuff, and still do to this day. Part of being a CNA is learning to CYA (Cover Your ***) legally at all times. :saint:

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