Safe Patient Handling Toolkit for the Interdisciplinary Team

In late 2004, ARN collaborated with the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), and the Veteran's Health Administration to publish a white paper highlighting strategies to improve patient and healthcare provider safety in patient handling and movement tasks. As a result of the recommendations made in that document, ARN teamed up once again with members of APTA and AOTA to develop a ready to use, web-based resource to promote safe patient handling in rehabilitation.

This tool kit can be used by every member of a rehabilitation interdisciplinary team to implement a safe patient handling program in a rehabilitation setting.

Much of the tool kit content was adapted from the VISN 8 (Veterans Integrated Service Network) Patient Safety Center Patient Care Ergonomics Resource Guide. This adaptation has an interdisciplinary rehabilitation focus and also includes other resources like journal articles, sample forms, sample Power Point presentation and comprehensive references.

Chapter One: Business Case for Safe Patient Handling
(This chapter contains links to additional documents.)

Chapter Two: How to Conduct a Risk Assessment: A 5-Step Ergonomic Workplace Assessment of Rehabilitation Patient Care Environments
(This chapter contains links to additional documents.)

Chapter Three: Myths and Facts About Safe Patient Handling in Rehabilitation

Chapter Four: Selection of Equipment
(This chapter contains links to additional documents.)

Chapter Five: Therapeutic Use of Safe Patient-Handling Equipment: Safeguarding Healthcare Workers While Supporting the Rehabilitative Process
(This chapter contains links to additional documents.)

ARN thanks the volunteers who were contributors to this project.