Round Table Discussion: The Challenges of Introducing Safe Resident Handling and Mobility (SRHM) in an Assisted Living Environment

Since the problem of healthcare workers incurring musculoskeletal injuries when moving and handling their patients or residents became a focus in the early 1990’s in Europe and in the 2000’s in the United States, most of the resources to prevent these injuries have been placed in acute and long term care environments. However, the continuum of care for individuals as they journey through the ageing process and require more support than they can receive at home often leads them to reside in an assisted living environment. As the acuity of residents in assisted living facilities (ALFs) is increasing, coupled with the fact that many ALFs have end-of-life care licenses, the risk to caregivers, who often receive very little training, has increased, and their rates of moving-and-handling-related injuries are increasing. The terms resident and patient are used interchangeably by the participants.

This round table discussion is the third part of our series of articles on SRHM in an assisted living environment. Three experts in this field identify the main musculoskeletal risks to caregivers when caring for residents in ALFs, what may be causing the disparities between states on what safe resident handling (SRH) technology they will allow to be used with residents, and what SRH-related solutions can be adopted to make the environment safer for both the resident and the caregiver.

Campaneria N, Enos L, Quinn N

Key Words: Safe patient handling, safe resident handling, assisted living, assisted devices.