Safe Patient Handling for Therapists
Presented by Michael Fragala and Guy Fragala
Non-Financial: Mike Fragala has no competing non-financial interests or relationships with regard to the content presented in this course.
Meet your instructors
Michael Fragala
Michael Fragala has worked in the healthcare business operations arena for the majority of his career and has served as a Regional Clinical Director, primarily responsible for clinical operations and strategic planning, within national post-acute accounts. Presently Mr. Fragala is employed by Joerns Healthcare overseeing…
Guy Fragala
Dr. Fragala has more than 45 years of experience as an Occupational Safety and Health professional and is currently the Senior Advisor for Ergonomics at the Patient Safety Center of Inquiry in Tampa, Florida. He recently served as Champion for the Creating the Safer Environment Program for Joerns Healthcare and Director of…
Chapters & learning objectives
1. Why is Safe Patient Handling Important?
Occupational risk factors of patient handling and mobility include exertion, repetition, posture and duration of exposure. These activities can pose significant risks to therapists as well as their patients. This chapter explores the magnitude of the occupational injury problem, including both direct and indirect costs related to manual patient handling.
2. Risk Factors and Their Impact
Understanding the role of therapy practitioners in identifying risk factors for occupational injury is essential to promoting a culture of safety. The physical exertion required to lift and move patients, the frequency of demands on the therapist and the awkward postures required to conduct patient handling tasks all pose significant risks to patients and healthcare workers alike. This chapter will explore the damaging effects that these types of activities as well as the role of ergonomics and body mechanics in safe patient handling.
3. Panel Discussion: Perspectives on Safe Patient Handling
Through a panel discussion of therapists and nurses, this chapter will explore how direct care staff feel at the end of their day, what types of activities they see as potential risks and what they have done to offset these risks. This chapter also includes a discussion of safe patient handling with bariatric patients, and strategies for effectively ensuring the safety of both patients and nursing staff.
4. Available Technology and Solutions
How do you use technology and assistive devices to reduce risk? This chapter explores different options available to you and how to best utilize what’s available at your facility. This chapter also includes a discussion on when to use assistive devices, including information on beds, lateral transfers, active transfers, passive transfers, falls and DME.
5. Your Role in Creating a Culture of Safety
Therapists play an important role in advocating for those who receive care at their facility. This chapter includes a discussion on the important role that therapy practitioners play in developing a culture of safety, as well as how statistics can be a powerful tool to gain buy in from decision makers and improve the safety and quality of patient care. In addition, this chapter includes a discussion on how to best utilize contracted vendors to support your facility’s change initiatives.
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about Medbridge courses.
Who creates Medbridge courses?
We work with industry-leaders, top researchers, and consultants to build content roadmaps that are then structured into courses, filmed, and edited by our production team before being launched to our site.
How often does Medbridge release new courses?
New courses are added monthly and are automatically included in your subscription as they launch.
How often does Medbridge update courses?
Medbridge reviews its courses annually for relevance and to assess if content is up to date. Based on these reviews it may be determined that a course is out of date resulting in the course being re-filmed or retired, if the content is no longer needed (e.g. a replacement course already exists, the concepts are no longer best practice, etc.).
How many courses does Medbridge offer?
We have over 3,000 accredited courses and we are continually updating our library with new courses. Check our course library for the most up-to-date count for your discipline.
Are there any additional fees for taking a Medbridge course?
There are no additional fees for taking a Medbridge course, obtaining a course certificate of completion, earning CEUs as a subscriber, or accessing any of the additional tools your subscription may include.
Is there a limit to the number of courses I can take?
There is no limit to the number of courses you can take as a subscriber! As a subscriber to Medbridge, you have unlimited access to over 3,000+ accredited CE courses.
If you are a Premium subscriber, you also have unlimited access to our Patient Engagement Tools such as the Home Exercise Program, Patient Education Library, Orthopedic Exam Tests, and Manual Therapy Techniques. We have over 7,000 exercises and over 650+ videos and handouts of patient education resources with more exercises and patient education added to the library based on subscriber feedback, volume of request and specialities.
What is your refund policy?
You are eligible for a refund provided your request is received within 30 days of your subscription purchase and your account has no activity.