Safe Patient Handling Toolkit

A resource guide addressing patient handling with the goal of providing necessary tools for occupational health professionals to implement a safe patient handling program.

Safe patient handling programs pay for themselves. This resource provides information on the effectiveness and cost savings of safe patient handling programs.

This document provides information from leading hospitals that have implemented and benefitted from safe patient handling programs.

A PowerPoint presentation presenting a sample model for a safe patient handling and movement program.

A comprehensive guide to safe patient handling from the Massachusetts Nurses Association. The guide addresses many issues related to safe patient handling such as consequences of inappropriate lifting techniques, benefits of safe patient handling programs, types of patient movement and lifts and tips to avoid back injuries.

Facts about moving patients, the use of mechanical equipment and creating a change of culture.

This self-assessment tool examines the number and nature of patient handling injuries occurring in your organization.

Use this checklist to compare your current policies and practices against best practices in safe patient handling.

Tools for improving patient outcomes in activity and mobility. It addresses incorporating safe patient handling into care plans and includes case studies on the use of an activity scale to determine the patient’s level of movement assistance.

This guide provides resources for safe patient handling and movement in surgical areas. It was developed by identifying high-risk tasks performed in the perioperative area and developing evidence-based solutions to reduce the risk of injury.

This bedside mobility assessment tool can be utilized to test a patient’s ability to move safely.

Nurses can use this tool to assess patient mobility at the bedside. It facilitates decision making as to the proper lifting technique required for the patient.

Sample outcome measures that can be used to measure the success of your SPHM program. This document contains both examples of short and long term measures that can be put in place. Each sample measure includes what it is expected to evaluate and the numerator and denominator that should be collected to calculate the compliance.

A comprehensive white paper to address Safe Patient Handling and Mobility from the perspective of technology, physical facility design and construction, and the business case for SPHM programs. This white paper is based on a wealth of research which recognizes the significant risks of manual patient handling to caregivers and to patients.

Post this flyer in patient rooms to remind them to call if they need to be moved or lifted.

Injuries in the workplace are frequently caused by lifting heavy items. This document provides tips on the correct way to handle the lifting of heavy items.

These tips present safe patient handling practices for healthcare workers. It supplies algorithms for safety in transfers common to healthcare workers daily.

This resource from OSHA provides tools and programs for heathcare facilities implementing safe handling programs.

A quick guide that can be printed as pocket cards for staff education. This guide is to remind staff of the most important points to consider before lifting anything, including patients.

A presentation created by the University of Texas-School of Public Health. This presentation contains key information about the components of Safe Patient Handling programs recommended by OSHA and NIOSH, it describes techniques and strategies for managing patient handling and discusses how recommendations can be incorporated into your organizational policies for safe patient handling.