Overview:
This panel presentation will discuss how to design SPHM in general, and overhead lifts in particular, into new healthcare space to prevent safety problems and reduce operational cost. All panel members have incorporated SPHM into construction processes in facilities, but from multiple perspectives: managing SPHM in multiple facilities; designing facilities; and designing lift installation methods. Best practices, tactics to overcome challenges, and ways of demonstrating the value of including SPHM in design will be presented. Panelists will present their experiences, results, and recommendations and will take questions that have been collected from the audience in advance.
Objectives:
1. Describe methods to incorporate SPHM into healthcare design projects.
2. Describe methods to defend the value of overhead lift systems that cover all relevant parts of a room in an area where lifting/mobilization tasks happen repeatedly.
3. Describe ways of overcoming situations where conflicting designs make ceiling lift installation difficult.
Bios:
Marie Martin is the Program Analyst in the VHA SPHM program. She is an industrial hygienist by training, with her PhD in occupational and environmental health sciences from the University of Washington. She led curriculum for an OSHA training center before joining the VA North Texas Health Care System as an industrial hygienist in 2008. Within two months of arrival, she was planning for ceiling lifts, and she has been an SPHM facility coordinator ever since. In 2014, she started helping with the national VA SPHM program, led it from 2015 to 2016, and has assisted with its leadership ever since.
Nancy McGann is the Enterprise Leader of Fall Prevention, Patient Mobility, and Safe Patient Handling in the Clinical Excellence Department of Intermountain Health, where she has worked for 17 years. Prior to her current role, she was the System Manager of Caregiver Safety and of Ergonomics and Safe Patient Handling. She has worked as a therapist and ergonomic consultant in industry and healthcare for the past 34 years. She is on the board of directors of ASPHP and has spoken nationally and published in this area for the past 13 years. Her passion is protecting both caregivers and patients while facilitating mobility to provide the highest quality of care.
Michael Degnan is the VA Senior Architect and Healthcare Engineer supporting construction engineering and VA design for the Jennifer Moreno VA Medical Center. He was employed as an Architectural Project Manager for 25 years; 10 of those years were devoted to hospital design and management prior to coming to the VA eight years ago. He earned his Bachelor of Architecture from California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo. Currently, he is leading four surgical endovascular design projects, all incorporating new patient lifts, and outfitting the hospital with an additional 145 new patient lifts in every patient care department as part of a new design project.
Brian Trewella has been involved with safe patient mobilization since 2001. His experiences include implementing safe patient handling programs with a variety of technologies including both floor and ceiling lifts, lateral transfer products, specialized bariatric equipment, and ambulation aids. He has also been involved in the development of several unique safe patient handling products and in the technical improvement of many others. He is a certified level II trainer for Molift products, responsible for training technicians across the country on installation, service, maintenance, and ISO 10535 compliance.
LeAnn Schlamb, Clinical Planner, VA Office of Construction and Facilities Management, earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Cincinnati in 1990, a Master of Science in Nursing in forensic nursing from Xavier University in 2003, and an Education Specialist for adult education from Walden University in 2012. She joined the Cincinnati VA Medical Center in 2008 as a nurse educator, where she developed and coordinated the simulation and SPHM programs. In 2016, Schlamb joined VA SimLEARN. She has a broad range of experience developing and delivering education and has implemented simulation programs with interprofessional groups utilizing multiple simulation modalities within healthcare organizations. At SimLEARN she led a team focused on system assessment using process simulation in pre- and post-construction to identify latent safety threats and quality improvement. Her current position, since 2022, involves collaborating to provide clinical solutions and concepts for highly specialized healthcare space that facilitates the best care and treatment of veterans.
An Army veteran turned healthcare professional, Larry Trinidad started his nursing journey with two years in med-surg oncology, later transitioning to surgery in 2013. Since 2015, his focus on safe patient handling has been unwavering, with a particular emphasis on expanding these practices in the operating room (OR). Trinidad currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Surgical Services at the Veterans Administration Health Care System in Long Beach, CA, where he brings clinical experience from the OR and a dedication to ensuring safe patient handling practices are established and continuously improved. His commitment extends beyond the local setting through active contribution to national committees, and in identifying and addressing gaps in safe patient handling in the surgical setting. Beyond the professional realm, Trinidad cherishes quality time with family during off hours. His journey reflects a passion for patient care, innovation, and making a lasting impact on healthcare practices.