22 years of success: Safe Patient Handling committee reflects on its positive impact on staff safety
The Safe Patient Handling committee was recognized with the DAISY Team Award for its long-standing commitment to excellence in providing safe environments for staff and patients.
Since its inception in 2002, the Safe Patient Handling committee has been a driving force in advancing safety standards throughout UI Health Care’s university campus. With a focus on continuous improvement, the team has consistently developed strategies year after year to minimize injuries and promote a culture of safety.
As Nursing Practice Leader and Safe Patient Handling committee co-chair Karen Stenger, MAN, RN, CCRN, puts it, “Never underestimate the power of a small group of people to make change.”
The team’s efforts over the years haven’t gone unnoticed. In 2023, Magnet appraisers recognized their work as one of the four key exemplars that contributed to UI Health Care’s fifth redesignation status. The team’s focus on safety excellence also earned them a DAISY Team Award.
Safe Patient Handling committee co-chairs Karen Stenger, MAN, RN, CCRN, and Martha Blondin, MSN, RN
A grassroots approach
The Safe Patient Handling committee’s success over the last two decades has been built on a grassroots approach, where collaboration and engagement happen at every level of the organization. This bottom-up strategy helps ensure safety solutions meet the unique needs of various environments throughout the university campus. “Key coaches,” who are employees from different units and departments, meet monthly with Safe Patient Handling leaders to ensure safety strategies are effectively carried out.
“Key coaches play an important role in making sure that safety strategies that the committee decided upon are implemented and successful in a particular environment,” Stenger explains. “So, whether it be in outpatient clinics, operating rooms, inpatient units, guest services, in the Emergency Department, and so on, there are key coaches who know what their environment needs to be safe.”
“We work with a multilevel team that includes people who have varying levels of credentials, backgrounds, and experience within the organization, but when you get everyone together during committee meetings, it becomes an equal playing field,” adds Martha Blondin, MSN, RN, nurse manager and co-chair of the team with Stenger. “Everyone feels empowered to speak up because safe patient handling affects every department within UI Health Care, and we’re all driven by the same goal.”
Since its inception, the Safe Patient Handling committee has implemented 58 different strategies across the university campus to improve safety outcomes for staff and patients. Tactics have included reorganizing storage rooms, so equipment is safely retrievable, as well as creating a safer, more comfortable process for pediatric spine patients receiving X-rays.
Although some of these strategies don’t seem like big implementations, it’s evident that the strategies have dramatically reduced injury rates and created a safer environment for both patients and staff overall, notes Stenger.
Safe patient handling interventions can significantly reduce both staff and patient injuries by identifying and replacing unsafe practices with safer methods.
Stenger adds that the team is driven and often inspired by comments from staff and patients regarding their initiatives. “We’ve had nurses tell us that they chose to work at UI Health Care specifically because of our Safe Patient Handling committee, which their other hospital didn’t have,” she notes.
Stenger adds that patients are also more satisfied when they have access to equipment that helps them remain mobile, versus having staff physically help them. “While we’re here to care for our patients, they also care about us. We’ve had patients tell us how grateful they are for certain equipment that helps them walk or get out of bed, as they don’t want to possibly injure a staff member during the process. Having the right tools helps everyone keep their dignity.”
Continuing improvement into the future
Looking ahead, the commitee plans to continue expanding its reach, integrating both the downtown campus and future North Liberty campus into its strategies, while also continuing to refine any processes as needed.
“When you look at best practices and how to use different strategies to achieve the great outcomes that we've been able to do, it takes time,” Stenger notes. “We’re always tracking data and assessing our risks, so it’s a continuous learning project. We look forward to identifying future key coaches and integrating our strategies with all campuses.”
