The Quest to Prevent Employee Injury: Implementation of a Lift Team

A lift team was trialed at an urban medical center in the Pacific Northwest to reduce employee injuries. The lift team consisted of a lift tech and a nursing assistant who were both trained in lifting techniques. The trial lasted one year. Pre-post data on employee injuries and day vs. night injuries during lift team implementation are described. Results do not show the same reduction in employee injuries described by previous authors. Possible explanations related to the usage of the lift teams and policy developments are explored.