Photo by Christina Graber Using Henry Melessa, safe patient-handling program assistant at MAMC, as a ‘‘patient,” program administrator Kelly Roy and Kelsey McCoskey, USAPHC (Prov) ergonomist, demonstrate how healthcare providers perform an out-of-bed transfer using a ceiling lift.

At least that’s what research conducted with the Department of Veterans Affairs by Col. Myrna Callison, Ergonomics Program manager, and ergonomist Kelsey McCoskey found. Callison and McCoskey have been implementing the program at Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis–McChord, Wash.

‘‘Over time, developing Safe Patient-Handling Programs will benefit military healthcare providers, patients and the healthcare facilities,” Callison said.

For providers, it literally lightens the load, making their work safer. For patients, benefits may include a stronger feeling of security and—despite the utmost carefulness of providers—less possibility of scrapes that could result from being manually moved.

Workers in industrial settings use manual-handling equipment to move and manipulate heavy objects. Patient caregivers manually move patients weighing in excess of 100 pounds many times every working day.

These patients may be in pain, unconscious or even combative; they may move suddenly or erratically; and they may provide varying levels of assistance depending on medication and levels of fatigue.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nurses consistently rank at the top of professions with musculoskeletal injuries and illnesses. In 2007, nurses had more than 36,000 injuries or illnesses.

By comparison, construction workers, usually considered to have physically demanding jobs that involve significant lifting, had 6,950.

A safe patient-handling program can decrease the number and severity of injuries that do occur and as a result improve staff morale, Callison said. Injury reduction also is financially healthy for the medical facility and improves the delivery of patient care.

Over the past decade, Callison and McCoskey have collaborated with the VA’s Veterans Health Administration on the research and development of the VHA Safe Patient-Handling Program guidelines. The data from this collaboration was the model for the program the USAPHC (Prov) is now implementing at Madigan.

The first core element of the program is a rigorous ergonomic site assessment to determine the physical features of the hospital, rooms and beds, as well as staff, patient demographics and census, and other factors.

The details from this assessment guided recommendations for room and storage modifications and amount and type of equipment selections.

A second core element in the program is training at all levels of the facility.

‘‘We trained hospital management and 90 percent of the patient-care staff on the importance, supporting research and implementation of a SPHP,” McCoskey said.

A third core element is the designation of SPHP personnel. These include unit champions and fulltime, dedicated staff. Additional training is required for these roles.

‘‘Unit champions are staff who act as local points of contact and experts on the SPHP,” explained McCoskey.

‘‘Dedicated, fulltime staff members assist in data collection and are critical in the daily handling of all things associated with the program, from ongoing training to equipment installation planning, and fielding questions from Madigan staff regarding the program.

‘‘At Madigan, there are two dedicated, fulltime staff members,” she added.

Safe patient-handling equipment is another core element for a successful program. The USAPHC (Prov) ergonomists can recommend effective patient-handling equipment, which would be built in during renovations or when building a new facility.

The equipment can be retrofitted into an existing hospital, too, but the cost in dollars and time is higher. In addition to equipment recommendations, the ergonomists can provide needed initial and refresher training in the proper use of this equipment.

The SPHP is proving successful at Madigan thanks to the support of key MEDCOM leaders such as MEDCOM Chief of Staff Herbert Coley; Brig. Gen. heila Baxter and Maj. Gen. Patricia Horoho, former Madigan commanders; and Col. Jerome Penner III, current commander of MAMC, Callison said.

Their support has been validated by the current Army surgeon general as well as the public health command leadership.

‘‘This program is so important that it has been included in both the AMEDD and the USAPHC (Prov) balanced scorecard, and Lt. Gen. Erik Schoomaker, the Army surgeon general, has mentioned the importance of this initiative in his blog,” said Callison.

‘‘The lessons learned from our first SPHP implementation will help guide the USAPHC (Prov) Ergonomics Program as we provide guidance to assist the Army Medical Department with developing additional safe-patient handling programs as they continue to improve their existing facilities and build new ones” McCoskey said.