Conference
promotes
safe patient
handling
ByDEBORAHA.MILES
Oneofthekeyinitiativesatthe3rd
AnnualSafePatientHandlingConference
heldinOctoberinNiagaraFallswastolet
participantsknowindividualhealthand
safetycommitteescanbeapowerfultool.
“Ourgoalistogetsafe-patient-handling
—PhotosbyCarolineEsposito
techniquesandequipmentinallour Ferrantesaidthecommitteemetthree firstSafe-Patient-HandlingConference.
facilities,”saidKathyD’Arminio,PEF timesandisconductingfocusgroupsto Rabent,acommitteemember,saidthis
HealthandSafetyCommitteechair.“The getcommentsfromstafftobetter year’sconferencewasequallyhelpful,as
waytodothisisbyeducatingour understandwhatequipmentandpractices manyoftheworkshopsfocusedon
membersandhavingthemgobacktotheir areinuse,andwhatthebarriersareto residentialanddayrehabilitationprogram
facilitiesandformcommitteestoworkwith accessingequipment. sites.
managers.” Approximately300PEFmemberswork “Itwasalsonicehearingwhatother
D’ArminiosaidtheOxfordVeterans’ atthisDDSO.Forhereffortsintakingthe peopleweredoingattheiragenciesand
HomeinChenangoCountyisanexcellent leadtodevelopapilotprogram,Ferrante howtheyareaddressingsimilarissues,”he
exampleofhowahealthandsafety washonoredattheconferencewithan said.
committeecanmakeadifference.Inearly awardforpromotingsafepatienthandling. Withanactivehealthandsafety
November,staffandclientsmovedintoa Shesaidoneofthehighlightsofthe committeeatWNYDDSOthatmeets
newbuildingequippedwithceilingtracks conferencewasthehelpfulnessofthe monthly,Rabentsaiditismovingforward
andliftdevicesineachroom. vendors. onvariouslevelstoaddressproblems.
“Everyfacilityneedsastartingpoint,” “Theyareverywilling “Wehad7,236lostworkdaysatour
D’Arminiosaid.“ThelatestWorkers tocometoLongIsland workplaceinfiscalyear2008-09andmany
Compensationreportshowsastaggering DDSOtodoin-service wereduetobackandneckinjuriesrelated
increaseinthenumberofpeopleunableto training,andevenloan toliftingindividualsweserve.Wearethe
workduetobackandneckinjuries.Many someequipmenttotry secondhighestafterFingerLakesDDSO,”
ofthesecouldhavebeenavoidedwiththe out,”Ferrantesaid. Rabentsaid.“Ouradministrationhasbeen
properequipmentandimplementationofa TheWesternNewYork verysupportive,asweallwanttodecrease
safe-patient-handlingprogram. DDSO(WNYDDSO)in thesenumbers.”
AstartingpointforCarolFerrante,a WestSenecaorganizeda Theconferencewassponsoredbythe
PEFExecutiveBoardmemberandan safe-patient-handling stateDepartmentofLaborandtheZero
occupationaltherapyassistant2atLong committeelastyearafter LiftTaskForce.Conferencematerialsare
IslandDevelopmentalDisabilitiesServices
Office(DDSO),beganwhenacommittee
waslaunchedearlierthisyear.
FERRANTE
PEFDivision167 availableonthePEFWebsiteunderHealth
AssistantCouncilLeader andSafety.
TomRabentwenttohis
Newvet’shomebecomesareality
InearlyNovember,theNYSVeterans’ “Alldepartmentsworkedtogetheron
HomeinOxfordopenedanew220,000- themoveplan,”Crugnalesaid.“Wewere
square-footfacility.Thestate-of-the-art meetingonceamonth,thentwicea
buildingisaresultofanactivejoint month,andthenonceaweek.Itwaswell
healthandsafetycommitteethatworked worththeeffortforoursuccessful
toprovideabetterandsaferhomeforthe outcome.” — Deborah A. Miles
242residents.
PEFmemberswhoworkatthehome,
locatedabout30milesnorthof
Binghamton,saidithas174ceiling
trackswhichwillhelptransportresidents
safelytootherareasofthebuilding
withoutcausinginjurytostaff.
DavidCrugnale,aphysicianassistant
andPEFhealthandsafetycommitteeco-
chairatthestateDepartmentofHealth,
s
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ef
w
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a
rg
spleasedwiththenewfacility.
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2010—Page13
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