New Guidance on Patient Handling and Mobility Released by FGI

The Facility Guidelines Institute has released the second edition of the Patient Handling and Mobility Assessments white paper. The first edition white paper was published nearly a decade ago as a complement to the 2010 FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities. When it was released, the concepts of safe patient handling and mobility and a patient handling and movement assessment had just been introduced to the Guidelines.

Over the last nine years, interest in safe patient handling and mobility has grown exponentially and the healthcare industry’s views of SPHM initiatives have changed significantly. Healthcare organizations are now cognizant that implementing an SPHM program does more than improve workplace safety; it also can enhance quality of life for caregivers and patients, improve patient outcomes by encouraging and supporting early and frequent mobilization and help prevent costly adverse events stemming from healthcare professionals attempting to move patients manually.

The goal of revising the PHAMA white paper was to provide updated information about requirements in the 2018 FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction documents that support safe patient handling and mobility. The second edition expands on SPHM content in the Guidelines documents, provides tools to help design and implement SPHM programs that meet the needs of patients and staff and offers detailed guidance on developing an SPHM business plan.

The second edition PHAMA white paper is available for free download on FGI’s website at https://www.fgiguidelines.org.