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Lauren Morris, LPN, Brendan C. Lenahan and Michael Cowell, PT, participate in the portable lift training at 850 Boylston St.
Staff gathered at the Brigham and Women’s Ambulatory Care Center at 850 Boylston St. recently to learn how to use a new portable patient lift. Now, instead of relying on multiple people to transfer one patient from a wheelchair to an exam table, staff can use the patient lift, reducing the risk of injury to both the patient and care providers.
“The new portable lift is just one of many in a series of improvements BWH is making to accommodate patients and visitors with disabilities,” said Janet Razulis, administrative director, Clinical and Operational Programs, and co-chair of the BWH Disabilities Awareness Council. “We have a total of five new portable lifts throughout the distributed campus, including Foxborough, Brookside Community Health Center, the MS Center, and 850 Boylston St. We also installed a permanent ceiling lift in the Pain Center at 850.”
Additional projects this spring include installing power door openers in Dental, Endoscopy and Rehabilitation Services, as well as adding eight more wheelchair accessible scales, bringing the total number hospital-wide to 16.
And in May, BWH will begin collecting special needs information about patients during the registration process.
“Collecting information about the vision, hearing and mobility status of patients and recording it in BICS will assist staff in preparing for and accommodating our patients’ needs,” Razulis said. “We are working to have this information available in other applications, as well.”
Also this spring, BWH will introduce a training program for staff titled “BWH Equal Access to Healthcare: Patients with Disabilities.” Information on how to access the HealthStream course, which staff must complete by the end of September, will be distributed via email and available online. Visit www.BWHPikeNotes.org/Employee_Resources/DisabilityAccess for updates and more information.