Caregivers are often faced with the frantic situation of what to do when their patient falls. Many times, a caregiver will try to lift a fallen patient on their own, putting themselves at risk of injuring their back. They may also rally co-workers, if any are available for assistance, or end up having to call 911 for a lift-assist which may result in the patient making a trip to the emergency room even though there may be no injury.
Patient Handling Hazards
Repetitive lifts like these, or even a one-time occurrence of manual patient lifting, can result in an injury to the caregiver. According the CDC, “The single greatest risk factor for overexertion injuries in healthcare workers is the manual lifting, moving and repositioning of patients, residents or clients, i.e., manual patient handling.” The CDC goes even further “lifting algorithms developed by the Veterans’ Health Administration and the Association of peri-Operative Nurses state that assistive equipment should be used if the weight to be lifted by any single person exceeds 35 lbs.” Fallen individuals, even though they may not weigh much, are often “dead-weight” and difficult to lift. In cases where patients simply need help in transferring from a wheelchair to a commode, etc., lift demands are still placed on the caregiver that may put them in a compromised position.
DMEs for Lift and Transfer Assistance
Other than inflatable and sling lift devices, caregivers have had very few fall recovery device options available to them. However, next generation, battery-powered human floor lifts are portable, easy to use and require minimal staff. The common goal of these devices is keeping the patient and caregiver safe from fall recovery related injuries.
