CLIENT SAFETY CLASSIFICATIONS FOR LIFTING OR TRANSFERRING CLIENTS
Essential Physical Requirements For Interactions With Clients Needing Non-Medical Home Healthcare
The following are four separate classifications for clients whom a healthcare professional might encounter or be expected to interact with:
Class 1: Any client who is independent with all movements and transfers and doesn’t require physical assistance from the visiting healthcare personnel to move from one posture to another. This level would be classified Light Physical Demand of Work.
Class 2: Any client who weighs less than 300 pounds and requires minimal assistance for transfers from one posture to another (i.e., side of bed to standing). Once in a standing position, this client should be able to ambulate independently. This would be rated Light-Medium Physical Demand of Work.
Class 3: Any client less than 300 pounds who needs moderate assistance to move from one posture to another. This client needs the assistance of a walking device or from the healthcare personnel to ambulate. This level would be rated Medium Physical Demand of Work.
Class 4: Any client who weighs more than 300 pounds and requires moderate assistance. Any client who weighs 50 or more pounds over that is considered a maximum transfer. Any client in this classification would be identified as a two-healthcare professional visit if the client will require any transfers. This level would be rated Medium-Heavy Physical Demand Level of Work.
Minimal assistance would be considered the assistance of a healthcare professional to aid in stability or balance of a client during the transfer process and should not require any great deal of force (less than 25 pounds) or any awkward posture.
Moderate assistance would be considered as exerting a force (between 25 and 50 pounds) – in addition to the efforts of the client – that would be necessary for he or she to change from one posture or another. Also, a minimal force that requires a prolonged time (more than five seconds) in a poor mechanical posture also may be considered moderate assist.
Maximal assistance would be considered the necessity of the healthcare professionals to exert a large amount of force (more than 50 pounds) to assist the client in changing postures. This could be a one-person max transfer of a patient weighing more than 50 pounds, a two-person max assist transfer of a client weighing over 100 pounds, or a very heavy (greater than 300 pounds) client that requires one person to give moderate assistance from posture to posture. Any client who needs maximum assistance who falls into this category should be considered a two-healthcare professional site visit or the use of a mechanical (Hoyer) lift.
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