Recomendations for How to Proceed

Although the legislation stipulates that patient lift equipment must be purchased by January 2010, other steps must first be addressed.

The steering committee has developed an illustrative overview for "Getting Started" to help hospitals prioritize these initial activities.  Subsequent tools detailing the necessary components for each of these activities will complement this chart.


Use the tools on this site to help guide the goals of your safe patient handling committee. The tools are very comprehensive and will likely need to be adapted or condensed to suit the needs and/or resources of your hospital.

The procedure can be broken down into 5 sequential steps: 

Step 1: Establish a safe patient handling committee (50% direct care staff) 
     

Step 2: Train the safe patient handling committee     
   

Step 3: Write your Safe Patient Handling Policy     
   

Step 4: Assess the risks and needs for each unit in your hospital     
 

Step 5: Plan for the purchase of equipment


Step 6: Evaluate the effects of the Safe Patient Handling Program