Getting To Hospital

[YBill]

I found out this morning that she is afraid of falling if people try lifting/moving her without a lift. I'd probably be, too. (Or afraid of a dislocated shoulder like a previous poster.)

So, it is good to know we can ask them to use the hoyer (which we use at home) and they should.

I'll let everyone know what happens. Someone is calling them back today.

[zillazangel]

I found out this morning that she is afraid of falling if people try lifting/moving her without a lift. I'd probably be, too. (Or afraid of a dislocated shoulder like a previous poster.)

So, it is good to know we can ask them to use the hoyer (which we use at home) and they should.

I'll let everyone know what happens. Someone is calling them back today.

I hope you are able to solve the problem. And to reiterate, but sure that someone who is trained to use the hoyer is scheduled to be in the CT suite when she is there. Otherwise you may all stand around looking at each other. Also, Linda's post reminded me of this - ask them beforehand if the hoyer lift is compatible with the ct bed - the wheels have to go under it, and alot of beds are not compatible (e.g. too low to the ground), so you'll have to ask about the CT scanner. If its not, she'll have to transfer to a bed and then get pulled via sheet onto the ct scanner bed. Its a real pain, but hopefully you can get it squared away. Advance research is the way to go!! Good luck.

[Patrick Madsen]

I'm surprized that the Workers Comp. in North. Crl. Doesn't stipulate that a lift is needed to protect not only the patient but the people working at the hosp. In the least, the union for the hosp. workers should have something like that in their contract.

The hosp. I go to has a ceiling system in every room to protect the nurses and patients. I think it's a requirement thruout the state.

A buddy of mine made up a sling to use for transfers on an airplane. It's basically a sling like a hoyer lift uses with hand holds for people to lift him into a seat.

[zillazangel]

One last thought and I'll be done, I promise. A thought: when she is put in her wheelchair in the morning, you could just leave the sling under her, and they can use her sling with their hoyer. Then she doesn't have to be shifted around a bunch of times by people who don't know what they are doing, to get the sling on her there. That only works if you don't think the sling would leave marks on her skin, but worth considering.

[LindaT]

I really had to stress that I had a large man paralyzed below the neck and emphasize he would need extra help. They just don't see enough people like that. I also called the day before.
The hospital he was in for pneumonia 2 summers ago had 2 rooms with ceiling lifts and only a couple aides knew how to roll a sling. I insisted when he was doing better that we get him in his chair a few hours a day and also brought his commode chair up so someone could give him a shower after 5 weeks.
When he had an abrasion on his bottom our family doc could not look at it because no lift and how would he even stay on the narrow examing table? I called a rehab nurse that works in the hospital (not for anything a.s serious as SCI) and he arranged for us to bring Dave to the rehab unit so a PA there could look at it.
He has been really helpful in situations like this just because he realizes how lacking the different areas can be.
Sometimes you just have to keep at it until you make the right "hospital" friend that knows who to talk to.

[LindaT]

One last thought and I'll be done, I promise. A thought: when she is put in her wheelchair in the morning, you could just leave the sling under her, and they can use her sling with their hoyer. Then she doesn't have to be shifted around a bunch of times by people who don't know what they are doing, to get the sling on her there. That only works if you don't think the sling would leave marks on her skin, but worth considering.

That is exactly what we did.

[rfbdorf]

When my wife had a colonoscopy last year, I called the hospital to inquire about what they had for transferring her. They had nothing.
So my son and I brought our own Hoyer-Partner lift from home to the hospital and I did the transfers myself. The tricky part is that the hospital gurneys often have very limited clearance underneath. I ended up transferring her to the end of the bed, then we moved her up to the proper position by pulling the sheet under her.
So, if you absolutely strike out with the hospital, consider providing your own transfer means. But they really should have the facilities for dealing with injured and/or disabled people - that's supposed to be their job, I believe.
- Richard

[gjnl]

I don't think the original poster has revealed his location. If he is not in the United States, this will not be of help or interest to him. But, for those of you in the United States, here is a interesting document entitled Americans with Disabilities Act Access To Medical Care For Individuals With Mobility Disabilities, a publication of U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office for Civil Rights :
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/....tsgudiance.pdf

As these publications go, this is an interesting read.

All the best,
GJ

[Sh1wn]

I had started to bring my sling with me because I have had them tell me that they only had XX-large ones, this last time they didn't think it would work on there lift and got one of there's that was the same as mine.

Its about an hours drive so I don't sit on mine. There are a few people on there lift team that have worked with me a lot and it's great when I get them, about 1/4 are idots but mom just takes over and shows them how it's done.

[zillazangel]

I'm just amazed by the idea of a hospital having a lift team. It makes SO much sense, but I have yet to ever run across one, and this being at big hospitals in an urban(ish) area. And Patrick - you would think they'd require overhead/hoyer lifts, but I have yet to see an overhead lift, and the times we've used a hoyer lift it has taken a very long time to track one down, and then there is rarely someone (other than me) who knows how to use it. I dislocated my shoulder awhile back and when that happened, I couldn't lift/move him at all, so we had to get a hoyer lift for a procedure he had done at a hospital. It was the biggest pain in the butt. His surgery was delayed almost 3 hours because we had to track down a lift, then a sling for it, then someone who could use it.

Hospitals are just ill equipped to deal with people who have truly zero mobility / ability to move. Which is good because it means there are few people in that situation, but bad in that its a real issue for those who are in that situation.

[SCI-Nurse]

This is gradually changing in the USA. Not all hospitals use lift teams, but the concept of equipping staff with lifting equipment and training them in its use (and in fact requiring its use vs. manual brute force lifting) is gaining and has the support of the American Nurses Association, the American Physical Therapy Association, and the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses, in addition to the VA, which has mandated these programs in all 146 VA facilities (plus clinics) nationally now for the last 2 years.

The Europeans, Canadians, and Australians are far ahead of us in this. It not only prevents nurse and other health worker injuries, but provides much better service to the people we serve...esp. those with mobility disabilities. It has been estimated that 10% of the nursing work force in the USA are lost to on-the-job injuries annually.

Sadly, there are only 6 states that have legally mandated these programs. Legislation has been introduced in many other states (in CA the Govinator vetoed 5 bills in a row) and at the federal level, but so far has not progressed to being enacted.

The hospital where I work has had a program in place for 9 years now. We do not use a lift team. Our philosophy is to provide lifting equipment in all areas of the hospital: patient rooms (all of which have ceiling track lifts), clinics, radiology, nuclear medicine, the MRI scanner, the ER, etc. and to train all our staff in selection and use of the proper equipment for the given patient and situation.

I still run into frequent situations where hospitals are not up-to-date on this when working with my mother. It is unacceptable, and I always write letters to the director of nurses, hospital director, and others involved with administration of the facility, both citing ADA issues and their blatant disregard for the safety of their staff. I encourage others to do likewise.

(KLD)

[gjnl]

Sadly, there are only 6 states that have legally mandated these programs. Legislation has been introduced in many other states (in CA the Govinator vetoed 5 bills in a row) and at the federal level, but so far has not progressed to being enacted.
(KLD)

I am in Northern California and have a cousin who is a nurse in a local hospital. He confirmed that his union's contract requires the use of lifts and lift teams for nurse safety and efficiency.

KLD, beware the 405 this weekend.

All the best,
GJ

[MSWIFE1]

Write her name in permanent marker on her sling if you take it with you, that way you know for sure you get it back, I lost one at the hospital already.

[LindaT]

Write her name in permanent marker on her sling if you take it with you, that way you know for sure you get it back, I lost one at the hospital already.

Dave's aide did that. She said they lose them all of the time as she used to work there.
They put his things on the seat of the chair and covered it with a sheet with a tag because of course it would not fit into a lcoker for the day.
When I went back to the day unit it was gone-all of it.
One of the hospital employees "helped" by moving it to another room that was larger now that they figured the new lift out.
With the sip n puff etc I prefer no one else touches it.
He said he had worked with pcs and I sort of felt like an ass for getting mad.
But when we put him his his chair something was not right.
When we got home I realized the big lateral must have been sticking out and was bent back. He probably did not take the sheet off and it caught the door frame.
My son fixed it easily enough.