The Mobility Hoists for the Patient

The inability to mobilize patients at home is one of the primary reasons that patients find it necessary to leave the home environment and enter a nursing home when they become temporarily or permanently disabled. Now, patients can solve this problem with portable electric patient lifts.
An electric patient lift may be either a sling lift or sit-to-stand lift. This is an assistive device that allows patients in hospitals and nursing homes and those receiving home health care to be transferred between a bed and a chair or other similar resting places, using hydraulic power. Sling lifts are used for patients whose mobility is limited. They could be mobile patient lifts or overhead lifts. The sit-to-stand lift is designed to help patients with some mobility but who lack the strength or muscle control to rise to a standing position from a bed, wheelchair, chair, or commode. They use straps, vests, or belts (as opposed to slings) to make the transition possible.

There has been considerable effort put forth by nursing advocacy groups to encourage hospitals and nursing homes to adopt "zero-lift" or "no-lift" programs in order to prevent orthopedic injuries in healthcare workers. However such Safe Patient Handling and Movement programs, which require the use of mechanical lifting aids, are sometimes difficult to implement. This is in part due to the time and effort required to safely use lift equipment. Transferring a patient with a lift takes between three and six minutes which are considerably longer than moving a patient manually. Lift manufacturers emphasize that the added time it takes to use lifts is worthwhile since mechanical lifting aids improve caregiver and patient safety and while also preventing patient falls.
Normally, much consideration is given to the patient's comfort and wellbeing during the transfer process. For some patients, the use of a patient lift is more dignified than transferring a patient manually while some consider being hoisted in a sling less dignified. Lifts can enable families or caregivers to mobilize patients in the home setting rather than forcing patients to be relocated to an institutional setting. Safe patient handling is especially important in the area of bariatric care. Bariatric patients who are classified as patient who weigh more than 300 pounds require additional staff training and specialized equipment for transfer, showering, toileting, etc.
While power patient lifts are often used by only one health care worker without assistance, most manufacturers require that two caregivers be present. However, the single caregiver approach makes the patient lift more usable in home care settings where there is often only one caregiver per patient. In either case, patient lifts require special care in their use, as any mistakes made may result in serious injury.
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