Ergolution Helps Hospitals Stay in Compliance with New Regulation

Online, November 16, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Elevate software launch simplifies ergonomics assessments and reduces injuries for hospitals

LOS ANGELES - On October 7 2011, California passed Assembly Bill 1136 (AB 1136) which was prompted by the SEIU Nurse Alliance of California to help prevent back injuries for nurses in acute care hospitals. The law will go into effect January 2012 with enforcement scheduled to start in January 2013.

The passing of AB 1136, in combination with the fact that medical groups lose an average of $43,000 for each workplace injury, the sector is need of an efficient solution to curb further injuries. Managers have found the biggest challenge in managing ergonomics programs is the paperwork especially with the new compliance standards.

Ergolution provides this solution with Elevate, a web-based productivity solution that offers a streamlined process by combining safe patient handling training, competency exams and tracking patient and employee injuries. With its powerful workflow design, Elevate allows employees and administrators to invest their time more effectively making employees more comfortable and safe at work. In addition, Elevate's secure online portal provides enterprises a way to track and measure assessment results and use the data to increase efficiency and productivity.

AB 1136 amends the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 with the following key requirements:

Safe Patient Handling Policy
• An employer must maintain a safe patient handling policy, as defined, for patient care units and provide trained lift teams, or staff trained in safe lifting techniques in each general acute care hospital, except for specified hospitals.
• The replacement of manual lifting and transferring of patients with powered patient transfer devices, lifting devices, or lift teams, as specified.

Injury and Illness Prevention Programs
• As part of the injury and illness prevention programs required by existing regulations, employers are required to adopt a patient protection and health care worker back and musculoskeletal injury prevention plan, which shall include a safe patient handling policy component to protect patients and health care workers in health care facilities.
• By changing the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Ergolution is offering interested parties 60 days pilots. The first twenty hospitals to contact us can receive a 50 percent discount. Hospital Managers can call (888) 970-1116 or contact as at [email protected] for more information.

Ergolution was founded by ergonomics expert Charissa Shaw as part of her ongoing goal to simplify the processes tied to ergonomic assessments across sectors. For more information about Ergolution and to inquire about a software demo, visit www.ergolution.net/elevate

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