Lifting devices needed to reduce injury, experts say
May 1, 2000 2 minutes read
Lifting devices needed to reduce injury, experts say
OSHA begins hearings with health care panel
Teaching health care workers better lifting techniques has little effect on preventing back injuries, Guy Fragala, PhD, PE, CSP, director of environmental health and safety at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, said at the first Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hearing on the proposed ergonomics standard.
The weight and dependency of patients and the awkward posture required to lift them lead to a high risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Lifting aid devices can minimize that risk, Fragala said.
OSHA’s March hearing in Washington, DC, focused in part on health care as Fragala and Bernice Owen, RN, professor of nursing in the Center for Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, spoke in favor of the proposed standard.
"[T]he most effective approach to injury prevention efforts within the health care industry is to identify high-risk jobs and activities and make physical changes to the way this work is conducted," said Fragala. "These physical changes are achieved primarily through effective engineering controls. These engineering controls for health care include innovations in bed design, mechanical lifts, transfer chairs, sliding devices, and other aids, which are now available on a wide-scale basis for a reasonable cost."
Owen likewise pointed out the high rate of injury among health care workers, citing studies that show that common tasks such as repositioning and transferring patients from bed to chair place "excessive physical compressive force on the spine."
Owen tracked an ergonomics program at a rural hospital, which included assessment, training, and the purchase of new lifting devices. In the 18 months before the intervention, 20 back and shoulder injuries were reported on the medical-surgical floors of the hospital, leading to 64 lost workdays. After the intervention, the injuries dramatically declined; five years later, the hospital had no lost work days related to patient handling, Owen said.
After traveling to Chicago and Portland, OR, the OSHA hearings conclude in Washington, DC, in May. A final standard is expected by the end of the year.
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