New Mobility Devices to Assist the Bedbound Patient

The focus of this project will be about bedbound or nonmobile patients and the labor intensive and inefficient way they are often cared for. Bed bound patients often require two or more healthcare professionals to move or reposition them in bed. It is often a very physical and strenuous task. Moving these patients with the devices we currently have can cause injury to the nurse or nurses as well as the patient. The Bali Medical Journal reports that these patients can need to be repositioned or cleaned as frequently as every hour. Further, if turning or frequent cleaning isn’t performed pressure injuries and skin breakdown occurs rapidly. A study by wound care nurses also reports that the bed-ridden patient is the most susceptible to pressure injuries which worsens their condition and increases the level of care needed. This project will discuss the need for new devices and equipment for the bed bound patient and the care team. It will present the new mobility devices on the market and their cost. These new devices should be implemented on floors that have high cases of nonmobile patients. Factors that would prove this project to be successful would be if time spent turning and moving patients was reduced, fewer healthcare staff was needed, and less physical exertion was needed to perform these tasks. Other positive factors to prove the success would be if fewer falls and pressure injuries were reported over the time the devices were implemented. These factors can be reported as numerical values of time spent, number of staff needed, and exertion required on a scale of 1-10. The project will determine if these devices can help the care for the patient be more efficient and easier on the patient and nurses