All it takes is one bad lift to change a nurse’s life. Just one fast-paced decision has the potential to end a nursing career. That’s why the American Nurses Association (ANA) is committed to driving initiatives that prevent unnecessary injury and keep both patients and nurses safe.
Injuries and musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are often caused by manually lifting patients, and nurses are at high risk every day. The consequences can be devastating: for health care professionals, MSDs are responsible for more lost work time, more long-term medical care needs, and more permanent disabilities than any other work-related injury.
Safe Patient Handling and Mobility programs and advocacy
Through Safe Patient Handling and Mobility (SPHM) programs and advocacy, ANA is working to establish a safe environment for nurses, with the complete elimination of manual patient handling as our goal.
Universal SPHM standards are required to protect nurses, across all health care settings. Without this concerted effort, nurses will continue to be needlessly injured. The use of technology, especially lifting devices, is critical to the success of these programs.