At Westerly Hospital, both members of the CAT scan team have sustained virtually identical back injuries lifting patients, and been forced to take time out of work to recover. They’re not the only ones, either, according to Jan Salsich, president of the nurses’ union at the hospital.
With nurses lifting an estimated 1.8 tons per shift, Salsich said, and as the median age for nurses reaches the mid-40s and patients grow heavier, nurses and certified nursing assistants (CNAs) are increasingly at risk of hurting their backs and shoulders.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month: What to Do When Your Identity Is Stolen
In recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, it is important to remember that identity theft affects…
Learn More
“I and my co-workers suffer chronic pain,” said Salsich, speaking on her cell phone from outside her chiropractor’s office.
Health care workers have some of the highest job-related injury rates, both in Rhode Island and nationwide. In 2004, Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show, the state’s hospitals reported about 1,600 workplace injuries or illnesses, or 9.8 per 100 full-time workers. They had 69 percent more injuries involving lost work time, and double the average back injury rate.
Nursing homes reported about 1,400 injuries or illnesses, or 11.1 per 100 full-time workers – more than twice the private-sector average of 5.2 per 100. Nationwide, hospitals and nursing homes together reported more than half a million injuries and illnesses.
Now, after years of working with their employers to reduce their risk of injury, health care workers’ unions have turned to the General Assembly for help.
A bill introduced by state Rep. Grace Diaz, D-Providence, a former CNA herself, would require every licensed health care facility to set up a committee, chaired by a nurse, to develop a safe patient handling program, with policies aimed at preventing musculoskeletal disorders among workers and injuries to patients.
The measure, called the Safe Patient Handling Act of 2006, would also require facilities to implement rules to virtually eliminate manual lifting, transferring and repositioning of patients, except in life-threatening emergencies or other extraordinary circumstances.
Washington state last month passed a similar measure, the first in the nation.
Rick Brooks, executive director of United Nurses and Allied Professionals, which represents health care workers at Westerly Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital and many other facilities, said a key component to reducing injuries is the use of mechanical lifts.
The equipment generally ranges in price from $100 to $600, Brooks said, and the investment pays off because of the reduced injury rates. “Some of it is really affordable and low-tech,” he said. “It just depends on the needs of the facility.”
The addition of the equipment could reduce workers’ compensation costs and absenteeism, according to Jamie Tessler, an ergonomics consultant who testified in favor of Diaz’s bill at a hearing last month.
Tessler told legislators that hospitals in New York and Oregon have seen their workers’ comp costs drop after installing the equipment. One hospital in New York, she said, saw a 24-percent drop.
With the average cost of back injury claims costing $15,000 and the most expensive ones costing $200,000, Salsich said, the investment is worth it.
“You use it over and over again,” she said. “You recoup the cost of the equipment very quickly.”
At Westerly Hospital, Salsich said, a device called the HoverMatt has been helpful. An inflatable mattress, HoverMatt requires 93 percent less effort to transfer and reposition patients, according to manufacturer Hover Tech International.
Jon Gage, the administrator at Riverview Health Care Community in Coventry and chairman of the Rhode Island Health Care Association board of directors, said his facility has purchased several different patient transferring devices in recent years.
Diaz said the equipment could be valuable to her former colleagues. She herself was injured twice while working as a CNA, she said, and was once out of work for three months.
“You never fully recover,” she said.
