By Julie Ferguson
Lynch Ryan & Associates

A few years ago, an important National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health study on nursing home lifting equipment demonstrated that the benefits outweigh the costs. In addition to recapping the equipment investment in less than three years, NIOSH found a 61% reduction in resident-handling workers' compensation injury rates; a 66% drop in lost workday rates; and a 38% decline in restricted workdays. Plus, the rate of post-intervention assaults during resident transfers dropped by 72%. That's pretty impressive.

Now we have further evidence based on the recently-released study by the National Council on Compensation Insurance: Safe Lifting Programs at Long-Term Care Facilities and Their Impact on Workers Compensation Costs. The study was a collaborative effort with the University of Maryland School of Medicine. It was limited to facilities that have had safe lift programs in place for more than three years. Originally, researches intended to compare the experience of facilities with and without such programs, but during the course of the research, the rate of adoption of safe lifting devices was so great that close to 95% of facilities had them and about 80% of those used them regularly.

NCCI summarizes the study results:

"After controlling for ownership structure and differences in workers compensation systems across states, the statistical analysis performed as part of this study shows that an increased emphasis on safe lift programs at long-term care facilities is associated with fewer workplace injuries and lower workers compensation costs. More precisely, higher values of the safe lift index are associated with lower values for both frequency and total costs. The safe lift index captures information on the policies, training, preferences, and barriers surrounding the use of powered mechanical lifts. The institution's commitment to effectively implementing a safe lift program appears to be the key to success."

One of the interesting aspects of the study is the safe lift index, referenced above, which was developed by researchers to aggregate answers from the survey questions into a single number. Researchers looked at several variables pertaining to policies and procedures. These included the training of certified nursing assistants in proper use of mechanized lifts, preferences of the Director of Nursing for powered mechanical lift use, potential barriers to the use of powered mechanical lifts, and enforcement of the lift policies. The report discusses these factors in greater detail, and demonstrate that there are many variables beyond just the equipment that affect overall program efficacy.

Many states have safe patient handling laws

In recent years, a number of states have enacted legislation mandating safe patient liftingand that no doubt has contributed to the rapid adoption rate noted by NCCI researchers. According to the American Nursing Association, a strong advocate for such legislation, nine states have implemented safe patient handling laws. These include Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington, with a resolution from Hawaii. In addition, they are tracking states with pending legislation in 2001, currently six states: California, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri and Vermont. You can also track this legislation via a map and you can access additional resources and information at ANA's excellent Safe Patient Handling website.

Julie Ferguson is a marketing consultant for Lynch Ryan & Associates, an employer consulting firm in Massachusetts. This column was reprinted with the firm's permission from its blog, http://www.workerscompinsider.com