Continuing Care Hospital at Saint Joseph Hospital Receives KHA Quality Award - Archived

Lexington, Ky. (May 13, 2019) – Continuing Care Hospital (CCH) at CHI Saint Joseph Health was recently awarded the 2019 Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) Quality Award for its work in Safe Patient Handling Movement. Select hospitals were recognized May 10 with KHA Quality Awards at the 90th Annual KHA Convention in Lexington.

“We are honored to be recognized by the Kentucky Hospital Association for our work to ensure safe transfer of our patients,” said Bob Desotelle, president of Continuing Care Hospital. “Patient safety is of utmost importance and we recognize that keeping staff from overexerting themselves is key to safe patient handling.”

CCH is a 25-bed long-term acute care hospital located inside Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington. The Safe Patient Handling Movement program at CCH consists of the use of assistive devices to ensure patients can be mobilized without harm and the hospital employees avoid performing high-risk manual patient handling tasks.

The CDC reports musculoskeletal injuries from overexertion in health care are among the highest in the United States. CCH revamped its Safe Patient Handling Program to prevent employee injuries due to patient handling in 2017. The program includes bi-annual training on safe patient handling techniques, education for new employees on the first day of orientation to the unit, ceiling lifts added when possible (83 percent of the rooms have ceiling lifts), evaluation of the availability of slings/lift equipment and the addition of new unit champions. For an injury, the hospital conducts an investigation, focusing on the circumstances of the injury and a retraining of the employee.

About CHI Saint Joseph Health
CHI Saint Joseph Health, part of Catholic Health Initiatives, is one of the largest and most comprehensive health systems in the Commonwealth of Kentucky with 135 locations in 20 counties, including hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes and home health agencies. In total, the health system serves patients in 35 counties statewide. CHI Saint Joseph Health is dedicated to building healthier communities by elevating patient care through an integrated physical and behavioral health delivery system. CHI Saint Joseph Health embodies a strong mission and faith-based heritage and works through local partnerships to expand access to care in the communities it serves.

About Continuing Care Hospital
Continuing Care Hospital is a long-term acute care hospital in Lexington, Ky., located within Saint Joseph Hospital. Established in 2002, the facility is licensed as a general acute care hospital that serves residents of central and eastern Kentucky, and addresses the unique and complicated physical, emotional, spiritual, nursing and rehabilitation needs of long-term patients.

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