Item Brochure

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) recommends that “ nursing home employers
help reduce the number and severity of work-related
musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in their facilities.”
A MSD can include conditions, such as low back pain,
rotator cuff injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome and sciatica
(pain in the lower back and leg caused by compression
of the sciatic nerve).
To protect both healthcare workers and residents from
unnecessary injury, OSHA also recommends that manual
lifting of residents be minimized in all cases and eliminated
when feasible, and that employers implement effective
ergonomic processes that will help identify problems
and provide training to solve those problems.
Zero Lifts
A growing number of nursing homes have begun shifting
to zero-lift programs. Administrators at these facilities
recognize that manual lifting and repositioning tasks are
associated with an increased risk of developing injury to
caregivers, and this risk increases with the weight of the
resident or patient.
Guidelines for Nursing Homes, Occupational Safety and Health Administration
http://www.premierinc.com/safety/topics/back_injury/downloads/Final_OSHA_
Guidelines_ nursing_homes.pdf
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Obesity Risk Factors
Studies by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services show an increase in the mortality rates amongst
obese individuals with a BMI of 30 or more compared to
those with a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9. In the U.S., obesity is
associated with approximately 112,000 excess deaths per
year relative to those with healthy body weight.
Overweight and obesity risk factors include:
• Diabetes
• Coronaryheartdisease
• Highbloodcholesterol
• Stroke
• Hypertension
• Gallbladderdisease
• Osteoarthritis
• Degenerationofcartilageandboneofjoints
• Sleepapneaandother
• Breathingproblems
• Someformsofcancer(uterine,breast,colorectal,
kidney, and gallbladder)
Statistics related to Overweight and Obesity, National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
& National Institutes of Health, June 2007
http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/PDFs/stat904z.pdf
Safe Patient Handling
As the number of obese individuals increases, so does their presence in healthcare settings, which
can have negative consequences on workers tasked with assisting in their care and daily living in
nursing home and acute care settings.
Incidencerateandnumberofinjuriesandillnessesdueto
musculoskeletaldisorders,selectedoccupations,2007
Incidencerateper10,000workers
Numberofcases
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Ticket agents &
travel agents
Truck driver,
light
Emergency
medical
personnel
Truck driver,
heavy
Laborers &
material
movers
Nursing aids,
orderlies
Musculoskeletal disorders and days away from work, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2007
http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2008/dec/wk1/art02.htm
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