How to Choose Lifting Slings

First, identify how many patient lift slings slings your healthcare setting needs. While there isn’t one right answer to this question and the quantity will depend greatly on the patient population in a building, below is a general starting point. These per-lift recommendations will change based on the acuity level of patients and body type.

Sit-To-Stand Lifts:

Sit-to-stand lifts help patients who have some mobility, but need assistance rising from a sitting position. Sit-to-stand lifts allow caregivers to comfortably and safely assist mobility patients with sitting and standing. Below are a few sit to stand lift sling considerations:

Standing Slings: 2 medium and 1 large

Standing slings are ideal for patients who can bear half or more of their own weight and have sufficient head and neck control. These types of sit-to-stand lift slings can take patients from a seated to standing position.

Transport Slings: 1 medium and 1 large

Transport slings provide back support up to a patient’s shoulder area and underneath their thighs. Transport sit-to-stand lift slings can be used for seated transports, such as bed to chair or in room transport.

What Are Specialty Patient Slings?

Keep in mind that you may have patients who, based on weight, shape or specific health needs, require other sizes or sling types (hygiene, walking, gait training, repositioning, etc.)

A few examples of patient-specific slings include:

• Bariatric Sling
• Repositioning Sling
• Harness

What materials are slings made from?

Patient lift slings can also be customized to meet specific needs through their sling material. Common lifting lift material includes:

• Poly. Poly slings are the standard lift sling material and are strong and durable.
• Mesh. Mesh slings are commonly used for bathing, as they dry and let go of water easily.
• Padded. Padded Sit-to-Stand sling material offers added comfort for patients.

Lifting Slings Chart: Multi-Brand Compatible Slings

Direct Supply offers a variety of sling and lift solutions for your healthcare setting. Discover our multi-brand compatible sling selection and learn more about this versatile offering in this Multi Brand Sling Vlog.

Direct Supply’s multi-brand slings have passed compatibility testing and are appropriate to use with leading brands of lift equipment. The lifting slings compatibility charts below contain our Direct Supply multi brand compatible sling models, material and size options:

Floor Lift Slings Chart:

Sit-to-Stand Lift Slings Chart:

Shop the full collection of Direct Supply’s multi-brand slings to standardize and save on slings in your healthcare setting.

A best practice is to assess the needs of each individual patient to determine the lift and sling mix you should purchase. Some benefits of purchasing patient-specific slings include:

How Do I Determine What Sling My Resident Needs?

While fit and comfort are important assessment factors when choosing the correct sling, there are other essential considerations to take into account. The determination of the correct sling model and size must be done by a licensed clinician. That designated licensed clinician should:

1. Assess the resident and determine that the resident actually requires a lift/assist device
2. Determine the correct lift/assist device and sling based on the resident assessment and the manufacturer’s instructions. Follow manufacturer’s recommendations to determine the appropriate sling based on the desired function.
3. Document the specific recommended lift/assist device (make, model and weight capacity) and sling (make, model and size – including any specific attachment instructions). Remember, slings can be made of mesh, breathable fabric, nylon, quilted, padded and may have parts that can be plastic or metal. Be specific.

How Do I Ensure Proper Usage?

Having the proper equipment is an excellent start, but making sure your staff and residents know how to use them is absolutely essential. Be sure to follow any and all manufacturer instructions and safety compliance instructions. Additionally, consider these tips:

The Basics of Inpatient Fall Prevention

Sometimes the Simple Things Get Overlooked

As medical technology continues to evolve, it’s crucial that healthcare facilities implement strategies to ensure the utmost safety of their patients. One area in particular to ensure patient safety is in regards to inpatient fall prevention; while all falls cannot be completely avoided, being proactive against potential risks has shown great success in reducing preventable injuries.

There are small steps you can take to implement a system that best fits your needs and quality goals. Let’s identify some of the risk factors of inpatient falls to promote safer environments within your health care facility in 2023.

Understand the Causes of Inpatient Falls

According to The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, almost one-third of falls can be prevented.¹ Falls are a common and devastating complication of hospital care, particularly in elderly patients. Epidemiologic studies have found that falls occur at a rate of 3–5 per 1000 bed-days, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality estimates that 700,000 to 1 million hospitalized patients fall each year.²

Hospital patients typically fall due to a combination of physical and cognitive factors. Physically, patients may have weakened muscles that limit their mobility and make them susceptible to falls. Patients may also experience dizziness or confusion due to medication side effects, recovery from surgery, or other outside factors which may increase the risk of falls resulting in injuries. 

Additional causes of inpatient falls can be attributed to the environment. This includes poor lighting, slippery floors, inadequate patient monitoring, faulty equipment and cluttered hallways. To help reduce the number of inpatient falls, hospitals must take the appropriate steps to implement safety protocols. Additionally, hospitals should ensure that all staff members are properly trained to recognize the potential causes of inpatient falls so they can properly implement hospital fall prevention strategies accordingly.

How To Prevent Inpatient Falls

Knowing the main causes of inpatient falls can help in reducing the risk of occurrence. Hospitals can implement a number of strategies to reduce the risk of inpatient falls and prevent further injury. While you cannot control all risks attributed to a patient’s physical and cognitive state, you can control risks that are attributed to the environment. Strategies to optimize safety in the hospital environment include…

Ensure your patient has a safe bed –

Mattresses such as the Panacea Support Foam Mattress contain raised perimeters to remind patients where the edge of the bed is to prevent them from rolling off. Having a bed with a wider base also decreases the risk of a patient falling off the bed. In addition, you may want to consider installing Adjustable Height Beds in rooms where patients have less mobility. These beds allow staff to adjust the bed so patients can safely transition in and out of the bed. Adjustable height beds can be altered to keep patients safe and comfortable.

Implementing the right call system for your patient –

Consider your patient’s needs and determine the best way for them to quickly alert staff when they are in need of assistance. For instance, does the patient need a call light adapter? Products such as the Attendant Nurse Call Light Adapter ensures your patients have the ability to access help if needed. It is important to make sure that new call light adapters will work with your already installed nurse call system as well.

Educating staff on proper transfer techniques for lifting and moving patients –

Making sure your staff is properly trained to lift and transfer patients is a critical hospital fall prevention strategy. Staff should be familiar with how to use Gait Belts and other Transfer Aids to swiftly help patients get around.  You should also make sure your healthcare facility has a quality Floor Lift to reduce the risk of injury to both staff and patients. A floor lift eliminates the need for manual lifting, which can cause strain on muscles and joints. Additionally, floor lifts can save time by enabling staff to quickly and safely move patients in emergency situations.

By implementing these strategies, hospitals can help to lessen the risk of inpatient falls during their stay. Direct Supply offers a variety of products to reduce fall risk. Learn more about how to strengthen your hospital fall prevention strategies.

The Future of Hospital Fall Prevention Strategies

Investing in the right hospital fall prevention strategies is incredibly important in healthcare. It doesn’t have to be challenging – there are many simple actions you can take that go a long way. The future of fall prevention ensures that patients have access to everything they need in order to remain safe. Adding affordable items such as grip socks to your inventory and implementing other practical strategies can help improve patient safety and satisfaction at hospitals. These measures keep staff safe as well, helping you to promote overall safer environments for your facility in 2023.

References:

¹ Preventing falls in Hospitals. AHRQ. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2023, from https://www.ahrq.gov/patient-safety/settings/hospital/fall-prevention/toolkit/index.html

² Falls. Patient Safety Network. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/falls

Survey basics

This survey was designed by Direct Supply and conducted independently. It was sent to 1,262 total respondents in mid-June of 2021. The respondents were grouped as follows:

• Skilled Nursing Facility: 348 respondents (27.6%)
• Assisted Living Facility: 502 respondents (39.8%)
• Memory Care Facility: 222 respondents (17.6%)
• Other (includes CCRC, Independent Living and other Senior Housing): 190 respondents (15.1%)

Our objectives

Our question set was developed with specific objectives in mind:

• Provide benchmarks for Administrators
• Reveal safety trends and drivers
• Provide insight to suppliers to the industry.

The question set covered 6 basic topics:

1. Resident Safety
2. Concern Over OSHA and CMS Citations
3. Air Quality: Perception and Practice
4. Infection Prevention and Control
5. PPE Policies and Procurement
6. Screening and Education

What you will learn

• Which area of senior living facilities is most neglected when it comes to infection control. 
• What percentage of facilities say their PPE practices meet CDC conventional use standards.
• Discrepancies in perception versus reality as pertains to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in Senior Living facilities.
• Actionable steps you can take now to lower your safety risks and increase resident health.

This webinar features Cate Reade, MS, RD – Certified Senior Fitness Specialist & Kelly Sullivan – Senior Product Consultant, Direct Supply.

According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, mobility is the fastest-growing disability with 40% of people ages 65 and older having difficulty walking or climbing stairs. Losing mobility means independence withers away while the risk of falling grows. Discover why unlocking joint function is the key to regaining strength and balance.

In this webinar, we will explore strategies that include simple exercises, breathing techniques and positive intentions that support greater mobility and confidence. Attendees will walk away with actionable steps to help older adults build stronger physical, mental and emotional capabilities to move, feel and live better.

Help Increase Safety

The most important thing to consider when using a sit-to-stand lift is helping to ensure safety for both the resident and the caregiver. Before using any lift equipment, you must complete a resident assessment by a qualified clinician. The assessment should be:

1. Multi-factorial (physical, mental, cognitive, etc.)
2. Documented
3. Communicated to caregivers
4. Repeated (at time of admission, passage of time, change of condition, etc.)

While the assessment outlines requirements for the resident, we recommend a similar process to help ensure the caregiver is prepared for the lifting procedure and knows how to use a sit-to-stand lift. A caregiver should follow the below sit-to-stand lift instructions:

1. Know the resident’s care plan requirements
2. Verify the resident’s name, physical capabilities, mental status and medical condition
3. Complete a visual lift and sling inspection before each use

4. Disinfect hands and sling both before and after use
5. Engage the resident and explain the lifting procedure

Help Improve Outcomes

After ensuring the proper requirements and procedures are met, the next step is to look at the many ways a sit-to-stand lift can improve outcomes in your community. In addition to simple transfers, these lifts can be a powerful exercise tool to help improve residents’ strength as a way to reduce dependency on lifting devices. To meet the shift of rising acuity in senior living, transfer and lifting devices can help achieve residents’ health and wellness goals. ​Additionally, they can open up a wider range of activities and interventions that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. Consider these applications as potentially applicable for a resident:

Falls have become a significant problem for seniors in the United States. With one-third of reported falls among those ages 65 and over – and staggering costs that coincide – preventive measures must be taken to identify and treat individuals who are at risk of falls before they occur. Fall risk screening and conditioning programs are designed to do just that. Over the past few years, research has proven how falls and subsequent cost-related injuries decrease with the implementation of these programs.

In this webinar, you will receive an overview of common intrinsic and extrinsic causes of falls among seniors and individuals with existing disabilities, as well as the consequences and current cost-related statistics. Through various methods and evaluations, attendees will learn how they can play an integral role in providing evidenced-based fall risk assessments in their own communities or workplaces. We will then review common clinical balance, gait and strength tests that can be administered to determine fall risk and discuss what a conditioning program consisting of these tests will look like. Lastly, we will explore how basic marketing techniques can be used to promote a fall risk assessment program to seniors and staff in your community.

This webinar features Liz Jensen – Clinical Director, and Renae Buyeske – Product Consultant.

“Falls continue to be one the biggest issues impacting our residents’ healthy and safety. Can you help?”

This question is one of the most common we hear at Direct Supply when working with senior care providers. Reducing fall risk, mitigating injuries related to falls and keeping a heightened awareness among staff are challenges for leaders in senior care. Join us to explore the latest evidence-based strategies to reduce fall risk, fresh ideas for building staffing competencies and capabilities, and environmental changes and resources to support a safer environment for residents and staff.

At the conclusion of this session, participants will be better able to:

• Describe evidence-based strategies to reduce fall risk in older adults.
• Discuss strategies for building competency and capabilities to reduce fall risk in Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing centers.
• Understand how to apply two effective education techniques to engage audiences with varying degrees of knowledge and experience in reducing fall risk in older adults.

The intent of this session is to provide resources for Senior Living, Nursing and Rehab Therapy Providers to improve clinical outcomes, increase independence and reduce the chance of falling. Falls are the biggest and most costly concern for long-term care providers and the older adults they serve. Mobility training addresses the root cause of falls, empowering older adults to regain strength and balance. Explore the components of mobility and how older adults can experience greater ankle flexibility, improved gait, increased independence and fall risk reduction with mobility training in five simple steps.

Notice: This video is intended to provide information to Direct Supply’s customers, does not constitute medical or legal advice, and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual patients or conditions, or as a substitute for the advice of a licensed medical professional. Direct Supply specifically disclaims all responsibility for any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the material in this video. You may not modify, copy, reproduce, upload, transmit, publicly display, prepare derivative works based on or distribute any part of this video.

This webinar features Dr. Scott Benjamin – PT, DScPT, COMT, and Kelly Sullivan – Senior Product Consultant, Direct Supply.

In this session, we explore the relationships between the cervical and lumbar spine and how they relate to fall prevention and balance control. You will learn how to work with residents or patients who have a variety of orthopedic and balance conditions. The vestibular apparatus will be discussed in detail. This session will help attendees think about specific conditions and their respective treatments, as well as what they may do to treat a resident or patient.

After viewing this video, participants will be better able to describe:

• The balance system (vestibular apparatus) and how it affects everyday life
• Osteokinematics and arthrokinematics of the cervical and lumbar spine as it relates to specific pathologies
• Normal kinematics of the lumbar spine
• Normal as well as pathological cases that affect the lumbar spine and pelvis
• Common pathologies in the cervical and lumbar spine
• Pertinent bony landmarks in the cervical and lumbar spine

Notice: This video is intended to provide information to Direct Supply’s customers, does not constitute medical or legal advice, and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual patients or conditions, or as a substitute for the advice of a licensed medical professional. Direct Supply specifically disclaims all responsibility for any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the material in this video. You may not modify, copy, reproduce, upload, transmit, publicly display, prepare derivative works based on or distribute any part of this video.

This webinar features Liz Jensen, RN MSN, RN-BC, Clinical Director, Direct Supply and Kari Harbaugh – Senior Product Consultant, Direct Supply.

In the US, healthcare workers experience seven times more musculoskeletal injuries than any other industry and the estimated direct and indirect costs of back injuries is more than $20billion dollars. A significant body of research supports the implementation of safe resident handling and movement programs to reduce caregiver injuries as well as injuries to residents.

Assisted living providers across the country are recognizing and responding to the acuity changes in their resident populations. According to the CDC, the average resident in assisted living is 85 years or older, and between 26-39% need help with transfers and 25%-40% need assistance with mobility.

As age and support needs change, so does the risk increase for injuries as a result of moving residents. Implementing a structured program that promotes a culture of safety with a specific focus on safe resident transfers and mobility can positively impact a reduction in resident injuries, staff injuries, lost work days and worker’s compensation claims.

This session will explore the latest research and best practices for assisted living providers to consider when building a program to support a culture of safety.

Notice: This video is intended to provide information to Direct Supply’s customers, does not constitute medical or legal advice, and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual patients or conditions, or as a substitute for the advice of a licensed medical professional. Direct Supply specifically disclaims all responsibility for any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the material in this video. You may not modify, copy, reproduce, upload, transmit, publicly display, prepare derivative works based on or distribute any part of this video.