By Healthcare Facilities Today

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that the health care industry spends about $20 billion annually on costs related to occupational back injuries, according to a blog on the Peninsula Clarion website. The occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders for health care workers in the U.S. is seven times the average for all other industries, OSHA said. 

The majority of hospital and medical centers nationwide have yet to convert their facilities into safe patient-handling environments, despite data that proves the effectiveness of such technology, according to blogger Donna Phillips, an RN and currently serves as labor council chair of the Alaska Nurses Association Board of Directors.

"Nursing staff, including nurses’ aides and orderlies, reports the most missed workdays due to work-related back pain. The culprit? An average of 1.8 tons of cumulative weight lifted by a single nurse during a regular eight-hour shift at the hospital. For reference, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends lifting no more than 35 pounds (the size of a small child) under the best ergonomic conditions," she wrote.

Patient-transfer and lifting devices have been proven to enhance patients’ sense of dignity and comfort, sparing them the discomfort of being lifted by one or more people, the blog said.

A Veteran Affairs hospital in Tampa, Florida, has been one of the pioneering facilities to embrace safe patient-handling regulations and equipment. The hospital installed ceiling lift equipment in practically every room and a no-manual-lift policy was adopted and enforced, according to the blog. Within five years, the savings in lost workdays offset the cost of the equipment.

Read the blog.