Veterans Affairs hospitals have been able to dramatically reduce nurses' injuries caused by lifting through training and technology, according to a National Public Radio report.
Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Medical Center in Loma Linda, Calif., for instance, frequently trains employees on how to use lift equipment, according to the report.
It also has installed ceiling lifts, uses HoverMatt floating mattresses to move patients and replaced traditional gurneys with power gurneys. VA hospitals are not the only hospitals to use this type of equipment. However, it's unusual because the equipment is located in all areas of the hospital, the report reads.
The efforts are part of "the safe patient handling program," which the VA announced in 2008. Since the program began, VA hospitals across the country have reduced nursing injuries caused by moving patients by an average of 40 percent, according to the report.
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