Baptist Health Treats Patients with TLC through New Safety Program

Jacksonville, Florida, August 28, 2007 -- Lifting, repositioning and transferring patients are daily events for caregivers, and that puts both health care workers and patients at risk.

According to the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (2003), nursing and personal care facilities rank highest in the incidence of non-fatal occupational injuries and illness, with 12.6 injuries per 100 full-time employees reported in 2002. The agency also reported that one-third of these injuries resulted in absence from work, and that nursing aides and orderlies were reported to have the highest number of absentee days (44,000) due to musculoskeletal disorders.

To prevent these types of injuries, Baptist Health has become the first health system in Northeast Florida to develop a comprehensive program that will use assistive equipment and devices on nursing units and in clinical departments at every one of its five hospitals to help caregivers safely lift and move patients. The program is called "Transferring and Lifting with Care" (TLC).

Baptist Health is partnering with Diligent, which manufactures lifts and other patient-transferring equipment, in this effort. "The Diligent clinical support consultants are helping us create a cultural change in how we lift and move patients," says Beth Mehaffey, vice president of Human Resources for Baptist Health. "This will be accomplished through developing customized policies and procedures; formal training on assistive equipment for lifting, repositioning and transferring patients; and ongoing clinical support."

"The average age of a nurse in the United States is 48 years old, and the average patient's weight is 250 lbs.," says Chris Olinski, RN, MSN, COHN-S/CM, manager of Employee Health for Baptist Health. "That's 20 to 25 years of lifting, causing wear and tear on a caregiver's back. When you combine that with the average patient's weight, hospitals are losing caregivers from the bedside, and these are experienced employees."

Baptist Health's TLC Program will roll out at Baptist Medical Center Downtown first in late October/early November. It will then roll out to Baptist Medical Center Beaches by mid-November, Wolfson Children's Hospital by mid-December, Baptist Medical Center Nassau by late December, and Baptist Medical Center South by early February 2008. In addition, a systemwide nursing job fair will be held on September 13 at Baptist Medical Center South that will feature the TLC program.

Chief Nursing Officer Diane Raines says, "Our caregivers make every effort to ensure that our patients have the best experience and that we exceed their expectations. We know that a primary concern of our caregivers is the physical demands of their jobs. The TLC program will allow us to provide an even better environment for both our patients and our staff."

Those who will receive training include nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, radiologic technologists, nurses' aides, patient transport staff and any other employee who is responsible for lifting, moving or transferring patients. More than 4,100 Baptist Health employees will be trained on and begin using the new minimal lift assistive equipment by February 2008. In addition, 132 super users (coaches) at Baptist Downtown, two per unit, per shift, were trained in July; a total of 225 super users systemwide will eventually be trained.

"This program will not only reduce the risk of patient handling injuries incurred by our caregivers, but also will increase patient satisfaction and comfort," says Olinski. "We are very excited about the potential of this program and how it will positively impact employee and patient safety."

"At Baptist Health, we want to take the very best care of both our patients and our staff," says John Wilbanks, chief operating officer of Baptist Health. "To that end, we are proud to be the first health system in the area to proactively address the potential of injury due to lifting, repositioning and transferring patients through this new equipment and training."