Paper
Monday, July 7, 2008
Development of an Evidence-Based Patient Lifting and Transfer Program through Academia Partnering with a Community Long-Term Care Facility
Carol A. Sedlak, PhD, RN, CNS, ONC, CNE1, Susan Jones, PhD, RN, CNS1, Margaret A. Doheny, PhD, RN1, Colleen Lavelle, BA, MA, LNA2, Martha Kutik, MA, LNHA2, Alison Salopeck, MS, LNHA2, Lynn Ensinger, RN, BSN2, Janice Gindlesperger, RN2, and Elaine Prymmer, LPN2. (1) Nursing, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA, (2) Jennings Center for Older Adults, Jennings Center for Older Adults, Garfield Hts, OH, USA
| Learning Objective #1: describe key components of successful collaboration between academic and community professionals for instituting change in health care practice settings. |
| Learning Objective #2: describe key components of an evidence based Safe Patient Handling Movement program. |
It is well documented that patient transfers and lifting cause employee injuries. In response, the American Nurses Association has instituted a safe patient handling and movement initiative for the prevention of back injuries in health care workers. Ergonomic principles and patient handling technology are fundamental to this initiative. A description of this evidenced based project addresses how nursing faculty at Kent State University (KSU) and an interdisciplinary team from Jennings Center for Older Adults implemented a Safe Patient Handling and Movement (SPHM) program at this long-term care facility. Nursing faculty and the interdisciplinary team from the long-term care facility developed the program. The initial merger resulted from the fact that a nursing professor served on the Board of Directors; in this capacity the nursing professor alerted the facility for the need of evidenced based practice to reduce employee back injuries. The Board and administrators from the long-term care facility responded; subsequently the nursing professors and interdisciplinary healthcare team from the facility developed a proposal to achieve funding from local foundations. Funding was achieved. An evaluation research nurse consultant was hired to manage the research component of the program. KSU, College of Nursing, became a pilot site for implementation of a curriculum module for SPHM funded by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. This project documents the successful establishment of an evidence based SPHM program through collaboration among academic and community professionals. Establishment of the SPHM program has resulted in lowering the occurrence of employee injuries related to patient transfers and lifting.