Healthcare work: heavy lifting

Dec. 2006 Working in a healthcare facility can be a backbreaking job-literally. Each year, thousands of health professionals are injured while manually lifting or repositioning their patients.

A recent survey released by AFT Healthcare found that the daily physical demands of the job have some healthcare workers thinking of leaving the profession.

"Imagine lifting 200 pounds or more of dead weight by yourself several times a day. That's a typical day for nurses and radiology technicians or X-ray techs, and it's becoming unbearable," says Candice Owley, chair of AFT Healthcare.

Peter D. Hart Research Associates surveyed 900 nurses and X-ray technicians on how lifting, transferring, and repositioning patients affected their health. The researchers found that more than half (56 percent) of nurses and X-ray technicians suffer from lifting-related injuries, chronic pain from lifting patients, or both.

Most nurses and health professionals view these injuries as occupational hazards, says Owley. As a result, injuries often go unreported.

"Now we are saying enough is enough. We know that it doesn't have to be that way," said Owley, citing Kaiser healthcare facilities and Veterans Administration hospitals as examples of healthcare systems that have taken steps to reduce injuries by establishing lift teams and purchasing assistive lift equipment.

Studies show that using mechanical or assistive equipment significantly reduces injury rates and workers' compensation costs.

AFT Healthcare has called on states to require that hospitals adopt safety programs with appropriate lifting equipment and training; create safe-lift committees that consist of health professionals to select equipment; and develop training, an action overwhelmingly supported by survey respondents. n

(AFT Healthwire, May-June 2006. Reprinted with permission.)