State Senator Jean Breaux
Indiana State Senate
200 West Washington Street
 Indianapolis, IN 46204-2785
Phone: 800-382-9467	

	Lori L. Lindsey-Clarkton, BSN, RN
80 S. State Road 341, Hillsboro, IN, 47949
Phone: 765-366-4480	
December 3, 2011
Dear Senator Breaux
I am writing to propose to you that a bill be presented that would benefit nurses, assistive personnel, and residents of long term care facilities from sustaining injury during transfers.  In June of this year a similar proposal, HRES 335 IH was put forth but not carried through to the full extent that I believe would benefit all parties involved. The Bill recognized the need for safe patient handling and movement, I will outline here for you what I propose could be done to increase the safety of patients and decrease the percent of healthcare provider injury during patient transfers. 
What I am proposing is evidence based procedure that is already utilized in federal facilities such as Veterans Administration. I would like to see a bill presented that mandated that all facilities become “No Lift.” This is carried out by using lifts for patients that require total lift for transfers, those that can help at a medium level such as standing for a short period but do not have the strength to stand for long periods, and for those patients who can pivot or sit up independently but do not have the strength on a daily basis to do so.  The machines that help move these patients are easy to use, safe, and allow for easy transfer without back injury to care providers or injury to the patient. With the mandate there could also be funds put in place such a grants etc. to help facilities get the equipment needed to be in compliance with the mandate.
I currently work in a long term care facility that uses a lift for those patients requiring total care.  I am Registered Nurse; we have patients that would benefit from other lifts for transfers.  All of the employees would benefit as well and there would be less incident of back or other musculoskeletal injuries or pain for those who do not use correct body mechanics when transferring patients.  In the past I worked at a VA that had a no lift policy and transfers would very easy and much safer. 
I urge you to compliment the Bill that was presented in June to add to the safety of our aging population and the people who dedicate their lives to care for them.  With the baby boomers aging the geriatric population will double in the next few years, safe patient handling should be in the forefront of the healthcare reform issues. 
 Sincerely, 

Lori L. Lindsey-Clarkston, BSN, RN