{"id":8327,"date":"2024-03-12T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-12T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8327"},"modified":"2024-03-12T14:30:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T14:30:00","slug":"bedford-va-improves-wheelchair-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8327","title":{"rendered":"Bedford VA improves wheelchair safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2024-03-12T14:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

A potentially dangerous situation uncovered in October 2022 sparked a major patient safety initiative at Bedford VA<\/a>. Staff discovered a Veteran leaving the facility in a wheelchair without secure tie-down brackets, putting him at risk during transportation.<\/p>\n

This incident led occupational therapy supervisor Kathleen Ross and her team to rapidly inspect every wheelchair on campus. <\/p>\n

\n
<\/a>
Not transit safe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Over the next two weeks, Ross and staff placed colored duct tape labels on all wheelchairs.<\/p>\n

Red meant not transit safe, while green indicated the chair had the proper secure brackets for transport. They also immediately purchased new compliant chairs for the campus\u2019 community living center for use if a Veteran\u2019s personal chair is not safe for travel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe duct tape labels were an acceptable interim safety approach, but a long-term plan was needed,\u201d Ross said. She then partnered with facility sign shop team member Scott McLaughlan to create permanent wheelchair labels. As of February 2024, every wheelchair on campus now has a laminated label clearly showing if it is approved for patient transit.<\/p>\n

Numerous wheelchair accidents nationwide<\/h2>\n

This improvement came just in time. In 2021, a report found over 100 patient transport accidents nationwide involving poorly secured wheelchairs.<\/p>\n

The innovative labeling system is now being shared as a best practice with VA facilities across New England. \u201cOur goal is for other VAs to learn about Bedford\u2019s initiative to identify this important wheelchair safety feature and hopefully consider implementing it,\u201d Ross said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are proud of the fast action our team took to ensure a safety gap was addressed,\u201d said Ellen O\u2019Neil, chief of the Sensory and Physical Rehabilitation Service. \u201cThanks to their commitment to Veteran care and excellent collaboration with other services, we have a robust system in place that will prevent accidents and give our Veterans freedom to access outside care safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Veteran leaving hospital in a wheelchair without secure tie-down brackets put him at risk during transportation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-health-care","category-prosthetics-rehabilitation"],"yoast_head":"\nBedford VA improves wheelchair safety - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Veteran leaving hospital in a wheelchair without secure tie-down brackets put him at risk during transportation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8327\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bedford VA improves wheelchair safety - 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