Powered Stretchers

Definitely not my experience. The foot is plenty wide enough to have one on each corner. You aren't side-by-side at the foot; you're cornering it. And yes, I work with partners of all sizes and strength levels, male and female. I've never had an issue with instability of the stretcher with the two-person lift. The only time I have instability of it is when somebody tries to "help" by lifting the undercarriage.
 
We have 3 of them (one for each truck), and they are great. Yes they are a little heavier, but know your limits and use proper lifting techniques. We don't mandate 2 person loads, but we do on heavier patients. I'd say 97% of my patients, I can load myself.. then again, I don't consider myself weak. We also hardly take the stretcher up steps, and it we do, it's not more than 3-5 to get into a house. It all depends.

It's convenient for sure, being able to push a button. As others have said, keep a spare battery just in case.
 
Yes the power stretchers are awesome and well worth the money.

I see most of y'all seem to still be loading these by yourself. Why? Just because you are strong enough isn't a good reason. They can be loaded 2 man so why not take advantage of it. You reduce your injury risk and also take away some of the cumulative damage that can build up due to lifting everyday.
 
Is it possible to make it any clearer that some of us do not feel it is better due to balance and lifting mechanics?
 
I had no idea they were designed for two people. We use them at my work but I have never seen a crew use two people to lift. Being I am very tall and my partner is rather short I would have to agree with Aidey. I am more worried about my back driving around in the cramped ambulance all day with my knees in the dash.
 
Anonymous said:
I had no idea they were designed for two people. We use them at my work but I have never seen a crew use two people to lift. Being I am very tall and my partner is rather short I would have to agree with Aidey. I am more worried about my back driving around in the cramped ambulance all day with my knees in the dash.
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It works just fine with two people who are totally different heights as long as you communicate and don't just randomly start lifting.

Depending on how the unit is parked I have to get on my tip-toes sometimes if I load by myself, it's a lot easier to 2 point it and then you don't get smelly feet in your face.
 
NVRob said:
It works just fine with two people who are totally different heights as long as you communicate and don't just randomly start lifting.

Depending on how the unit is parked I have to get on my tip-toes sometimes if I load by myself, it's a lot easier to 2 point it and then you don't get smelly feet in your face.
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Okay I am sold on that point alone. I will try it with my partner tomorrow.
 
Aidey said:
Is it possible to make it any clearer that some of us do not feel it is better due to balance and lifting mechanics?
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I am also not a fan of two person lifts. We're only doing them for bariatric patients (manual stretchers so another crew is needed) so they don't get done a lot, but more than a few times I've ended pretty off balance because I was not lifting at the same speed as the other person (and vice versa). The lift into the truck is not much different than a squat and if you have proper technique it should not have much risk. Something could go wrong lifting at the gym too...

The only time I have tweaked my back at work was with a two point lift, partner decided to change his grip on the stretcher right when I got to "3" on my count so I lifted before him and went nowhere since the patient was 400 pounds. Would better communication help? Yup, but you can't fix stupidity and inattentiveness either.
 
I am 8 inches taller than my partner and we always do the double lift. Is it crowded at the foot end? A bit, but sometimes my partner smells really nice and lady like...
 
Well we bought two Fernos. The factors that made the difference were the dedicated charging system and the lower price. The Stryker people like stryker, the ferno people like ferno. The general manager was basically the tie breaker and he likes ferno.

Also had a demo of the powered stair chair. Imagine taking a 500 lb patient UP the stairs one handed! (now of course you would NOT do that, you would maintain positive control of your patient at all times). Interesting, but $7,600, eek!
 
Long story short, yes, it will save your back. Modify your pt extrication techniques and the "bit heavier" label will not even come into play. Yes, it is heavier, but unless you're going up stairs it does not make much if any difference. One person can unload it, but of course two people make it safer and easier. Personally I feel it will be an industry standard at some point, as more and more people are put out with back injuries. And as the average patient weight only gets heavier.
 
The Stryker power xt helped make short work of CCT calls. It also became a nice conversation piece for conscious pt's when I would hit the button to raise the cot and tell the pt. "This is the hardest part of my job".
 
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