Have you heard ever the term “safe patient handling” (SPH)? Are you aware of the new Minnesota Safe Patient Handling (SPH) for Clinical Settings legislation (MN Statute 182.6554) (1)? If not, you are not alone. Although SPH is widely known in hospitals and long term care facilities, it is new to clinical settings.
If you own or work for a clinic in Minnesota that “moves patients”, then your clinic must be in compliance with the requirements of the Safe Patient Handling for Clinical Settings law (statute 182.6554) by July 1, 2010. This law applies to medical clinics, dental clinics, sleep centers, rehab facilities, chiropractic clinics and massage therapy clinics—as long as they have staff that move patients/clients. The purpose of the law is to ensure “the safe handling of patients by minimizing manual lifting of patients by direct patient care workers and by utilizing safe patient handling equipment”.
Moving of patients can be defined as providing physical assistance to lift, transfer, ambulate (walk) or reposition. Some examples would include assisting a patient from sitting to standing, repositioning a patient/client on a treatment table, lifting or moving a patient/client to/from a wheelchair, etc. There are numerous possibilities in which patients/clients can be moved that it would be impossible to list them all. A simple way to know if this law DOES NOT apply to your clinic would be if all of your patients/clients are ambulatory and are able to move themselves.
The law states that a written safe patient handling (SPH) plan must be completed by July 1, 2010 and be implemented by January 1, 2012. The written plan must include 5 things:
1. Assessment of risks with regard to patient handling that considers the patient population and environment of care
2. Acquisition of an adequate supply of appropriate safe patient handling equipment
3. Initial and ongoing training of direct patient care workers on the use of this equipment
4. Procedures to ensure that physical plant modifications and major construction projects are consistent with plan goals
5. Periodic evaluations of the safe patient handling plan
Ergo-PATH System understands that safe patient handling is new to clinics and that this law may present a challenge to your clinic to meet the requirements quickly and easily by July 1, 2010. We want to assist you in meeting this law and ensure that if you are ever inspected by Minnesota Occupational Health and Safety (MN OSHA) that you will be found in compliance. We have developed a SPH Package for Clinics. The package contains a detailed, step-by-step instruction manual that includes everything you need to know and do to comply with the law. It also has several templates, tools and forms that you can customize and use for your clinic. This product is available to order through our website. Another option is to work with one of our experienced consultants who will work with you to meet all of the law’s requirements. This can be very beneficial and cost-effective for clinics that find it too extensive or time consuming to do themselves.
Please visit our website where you will find a free webinar that explains the law’s requirements in more detail, the SPH Package for Clinics and our other SPH services , www.ergo-pathsystem.com.
