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Proposed lift teams to help hospital workers

Hospital Safety Connection, September 8, 2004

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Union nurses at the University of California-San Francisco Medical Center picketed last week as part of a plea for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign a bill requiring hospitals to hire workers who lift obese patients in and out of bed, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

If the governor signs such a bill, California would become the first state to forbid manual lifting of patients. Instead California hospitals would be required to assemble trained lift teams on call 24 hours a day. In addition, hospitals would also need to use mini-cranes and special beds to aid in moving heavy patients.

Hospital workers struggle to lift the heavy patients and claim it wreaks havoc on their bodies.

"We have the highest rate of back injuries among professions, and that includes truck drivers," said union spokeswoman Liz Jacobs. "The bill is on the governor's desk, and UC is opposing it."

Bill supporters say this could cut down on workplace injuries in hospitals and prevent patient injuries as well.

According to the union, 12% of nurses who leave the field cite back injuries as a major or significant reason for their departure. Other surveys show that 52 percent of nurses live with chronic back pain.

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