Human Care is proud to introduce INSIGHTS – a new Lift Interface System. INSIGHTS provides health professionals with valuable information to improve safe patient handling practices that can result in reduced number of injuries, cost savings and optimal asset management.

White Paper – May 12, 2017

A Practical Approach to Mobility in the Intensive Care Unit

Exploring Low Tech, Low Cost, High Compliance, High Reliability Opportunities

Today’s critically ill patients are often sicker, heavier, more complex and at risk for the hazards of immobility. Experts explain that the hazards of immobility adversely impact long-term recovery from a critical illness. Acute care facilities across the US and globally are seeking innovative practices to address these hazards in a cost-effective manner that yields high worker compliance, and better short- and long-term patient outcomes. This White Paper highlights relevant research, and features findings from a pilot study conducted by Covenant Medical Center, a Covenant Health facility, in Lubbock Texas.1 Covenant Medical Center, a 551 bed regional medical center serves west Texas and eastern New Mexico, and is associated with Lubbock University and Texas Tech University. The pilot offers an understanding of mobility in the ICU through both quantitative (Surveys) and qualitative (Interviews) methodologies. Data is included in this paper where appropriate. Read more…

On a yearly basis, nearly 40 million cases of fall injuries become serious enough to require medical attention. A surprisingly large number of these injuries afflict patients already in hospital care.

In addition, the vast majority of these falls have been documented to occur around the bed. Fall injuries are amongst the most serious problems in hospital care today. Somewhere between 700,000 to 1,000,000 people suffer from fall injuries each year in the US alone(1), and observational studies show that 60–70% of all falls in hospitals occur from the bed or bedside chair(2). Economically, the direct health costs for falls in Canada are estimated at $2 billion annually(3) and more than $34 billion in the United States(4).

The use of side rails as a means of protection is increasingly being questioned, with many hospitals and governments taking action to legislate against their use. One of the main arguments is the risk of entrapment, although the use of side rails has other long-term consequences. Between 1985 and 2013, the FDA received 901 incidents of patients caught, trapped, entangled, or strangled in hospital beds(5). The psychological impact of side rails is also significant as they contribute to the deprivation of patient dignity, and sometimes even worsen symptoms of anxiety and nervousness in patients suffering from dementia or other mental problems.

Increased patient surveillance is another way of circumventing the problem, but this comes a very high cost, while still not guaranteeing patient well-being. Crash mats offer a different approach by going from prevention to limiting the injuries inflicted by the fall.

However, crash mats also lead to other issues, such as the risk of infection, the inconvenience and time required for removal and maintenance as well as potentially creating a trip hazard for the caregiver. If the bed only descends to a height of 20 cm (8 inches), its use will lessen the risk of injury but will not eliminate the results of the impact.

To reduce the possibility of fall injuries you need to reduce the impact force of the fall. Adding a mere 5cm (2 inches) in floor to bed height, the impact force increases by 50%. From 20cm, the height of most “low” beds, the result is a 100% increase in the impact force when compared to falling from 10cm floor level⁶. This small difference in height can mean the difference between a bruise and a hip fracture. A true floor level of less than 10cm from the ground lets the patient roll out of bed, if they are determined to do so.

In addition to functioning at a floor level, floor level beds should also raise up to 80cm (31 inches) from the floor, creating an optimal working height that reduces the risk of back injuries for caregivers.

The cost of investing in a floor level bed is many times less than the average cost of treating one single fall injury in a hospital environment. A reduced number of fall injuries translate into significant cost savings, and the use of floor level beds greatly enhances both the dignity and quality of care for patients at risk of being exposed to fall injuries.

1) Source: Learn not to Fall,
2) Source: The Medical Journal of Australia / Oxford journals,
3) Source: Preventing Falls: From Evidence to Improvement in Canadian Health Care, Accreditation Canada,
4) Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine, Article: Falls Costs U.S. Hospitals $34 billion in Direct Medical Costs,
5) Source: FDA, US department of Health and Human Services.
6) Source: Study by Dr. George Zaphir, Australia