Fresh Perspectives on Safer Patient Lifting and Moving

Lifting and moving are among the most important but dangerous endeavors in which EMS providers engage. The consequences of a misstep can be devastating and long-lasting. Consider the case of a healthy paramedic in a large municipal service. He was a former kickboxer and avid weightlifter at the time of his injury. On the day he was injured, he was taking a patient down a flight of stairs on a flexible Reeves stretcher. As he and his partner were descending the stairs, the patient moved, causing the EMS crew and patient to fall. The paramedic sustained a serious injury to his back. Due to the typical "I don't need help, I'm here to help you" attitude of an EMS provider, the paramedic chose to continue working and not allow his injury to properly heal. As a result, his pain worsened until he could no longer sleep. The constant fatigue, coupled with chronic pain, caused negative changes in how he was perceived by his colleagues and supervisors. Eventually, his extended time on disability forced him into retirement. Today, following five operations, he's largely confined to a mobility scooter with a service dog to help him perform basic tasks. In 2014, there were over 21,000 EMS providers treated in hospital EDs, with over one-third being the result of overexertion of the provider. Half of that number was from lifting and moving the patient.1 These numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) don't include the injuries sustained from lifting and mov...
Source: JEMS Operations - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Patient Care Operations Source Type: news