Henry Ford Hospital Launches Program to Enhance Patient Safety, Reduce Workplace Injuries

DETROIT (June 14, 2021) – Henry Ford Hospital has partnered with Atlas Lift Tech, Inc. and Arjo Diligent Clinical Consultants to launch a program aimed at enhancing the safety of patients and team members. 

The program, named Project Mobility: How Motown Moves, was implemented with Henry Ford’s focus on safety, continual improvement, and innovation in mind. Project Mobility includes the installation of active lifts, passive lifts, ceiling lifts, lateral transfer and repositioning tools that will stay in each unit of Henry Ford Hospital. This will build upon Henry Ford’s existing patient and employee safety protocols, such as its routine patient mobility training for staff and the investigation of any incidents that result in injury. Nursing and other hospital leaders use the results of these investigations to determine how the incidents can be prevented from reoccurring in the future.

Project Mobility includes the use of Arjo devices, Atlas’ data tracking software and on-site Mobility Coaches integrated in the hospital, and Arjo Diligent Clinical Consulting to assist with patient handling and mobilization.

“Our patient care experience is built around safety, and Project Mobility will enhance our safeguards by reducing the risk of falls and infections, length of stay, readmissions, as well as the risk of musculoskeletal injuries among staff,” said Gwen Gnam, R.N., Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services at Henry Ford Hospital. “As part of the program, Atlas mobility coaches partner with licensed Arjo Diligent Consultants and are at Henry Ford Hospital seven days per week to provide customized safe patient handling and mobility training while working side-by-side with our clinical team members as they mobilize patients.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the single greatest risk factor for overexertion injuries in healthcare workers is the manual lifting, moving and repositioning of patients. Rates of musculoskeletal injuries from overexertion in healthcare occupations are among the highest of all U.S. industries. 

In 2019, the most recent year for which Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data are available, there were 20,150 incidents of occupational injuries and illnesses requiring registered nurses in the United States to miss work, with eight days being the median number of days missed that year due to these incidents. This represents a slight increase over 2018, during which the BLS reported 20,040 incidents with the median number of days missed being seven days. 

Support from healthcare workers is a critical part of preventing patient falls in hospitals, and the use of mobilization equipment can improve safety of this support for both the patient and staff member. Nationally, more than 700,000 patients fall in hospitals each year, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Research shows that close to one-third of falls can be prevented by managing a patient's underlying fall risk factors and optimizing a hospital's physical design and environment, according to AHRQ. 

To learn more about quality and patient safety at Henry Ford, visit henryford.com/quality. 

MEDIA CONTACTS: 
Henry Ford: Jeff Adkins / 586-307-2027 / jadkins6@hfhs.org
Atlas: Jenna Lindgren / 925-270-7279 / info@atlaslifttech.com
Arjo: Maroun Abouzeid / 630-991-7879 / maroun.abouzeid@arjo.com 

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About Arjo
At Arjo, we are committed to improving the everyday lives of people affected by reduced mobility and age-related health challenges. With products and solutions that ensure ergonomic patient handling, personal hygiene, disinfection, diagnostics, and the effective prevention of pressure injuries and venous thromboembolism, we help professionals across care environments to continually raise the standard of safe and dignified care. Everything we do, we do with people in mind.

Arjo + Diligent Consulting is an evidence-based partnership program that focuses on properly using task-specific equipment and procedures to minimize injuries. By implementing the right equipment and education, your facility can positively affect instances of preventable harm, meaning fewer challenges and more opportunities for successfully maintaining your quality of care.

Arjo Inc. · 2349 W. Lake Street · Addison, Illinois 60101 · USA · 800 323 1245

About Atlas Lift Tech, Inc.
Atlas is a mobility solutions provider. We combine our on-demand data tracking software with on-site Mobility Coaches integrated in the hospital up to 24 hours a day. Mobility Coaches are available on a scheduled or emergency basis through continuous rounding on the units, as well as in-unit and bedside training. Our Mobility Coaches are able to capture leading, lagging and real-time indicators through our proprietary software to guide and support hospital leadership through decisions that impact complications due to immobility.

Atlas Mobility Coaches become your facility’s experts on SPHM   policies and procedures, training needs and all SPHM equipment and devices.  They are a consistently available resource to train and assist your clinical staff at the bedside. The Mobility Coach Program reduces hospital employee injury and patient risks associated with HAPI, falls and other negative outcomes of immobility.

Atlas Lift Tech · 210 Porter Dr. Ste 300 · San Ramon, CA 94583 · 1 888 ATLAS LT

About Henry Ford Health System
Founded in 1915 by Henry Ford himself, Henry Ford Health System is a non-profit, integrated health system committed to improving people’s lives through excellence in the science and art of healthcare and healing. Henry Ford Health System includes Henry Ford Medical Group, with more than 1,900 physicians and researchers practicing in more than 50 specialties at locations throughout Southeast and Central Michigan. Acute care hospitals include Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI and Henry Ford Allegiance Health in Jackson, MI – both Magnet® hospitals; Henry Ford Macomb Hospital; Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital; and Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital.

The largest of these is Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, a quaternary care research and teaching hospital and Level 1 Trauma Center recognized for clinical excellence in cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, neurology, neurosurgery, and multi-organ transplants. The health system also provides comprehensive, best-in-class care for cancer at the Brigitte Harris Cancer Pavilion, and orthopedics and sports medicine at the William Clay Ford Center for Athletic Medicine – both in Detroit.

As one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers, Henry Ford Health System annually trains more than 3,000 medical students, residents, and fellows in more than 50 accredited programs, and has trained nearly 40% of the state’s physicians. Our dedication to education and research is supported by nearly $100 million in annual grants from the National Institutes of Health and other public and private foundations.

Our not-for-profit health plan, Health Alliance Plan (HAP) provides health coverage for more than 540,000 people.

Henry Ford Health System employs more than 33,000 people, including more than 1,600 physicians, more than 6,600 nurses and 5,000 allied health professionals.