Chris Jensen Health and Rehabilitation Center Wins 2006 Quality Award

Franklin, Mass. – December 7, 2006 - Liko, Inc., a major global supplier of patient lifts, has announced that Barrier Free Access, its regional distributor headquartered in Byron, MN, is the principal supplier of patient lifting equipment for the Chris Jensen Health & Rehabilitation Center.

The center was recently named winner of the prestigious “2006 Quality Improvement Team Award.” Announcement of the award was made by the Care Providers of Minnesota annual convention and exposition on Wednesday, November 15.

According to Jay Bunke, Director of Healthcare Ergonomics for Barrier Free Access, the majority of injuries to nurses and health care personnel nationwide occur during the process of lifting and repositioning patients. “In part due to their purchase of Liko patient lifting equipment, and spurred by an excellent Safe Patient Handling Program, the Chris Jensen Center has become a leader in the area of lift-related injury prevention. We at Barrier Free Access are proud to be playing a role in reducing injuries to their nurses and caregivers, as well as increasing resident comfort and safety.”

Joe Austin, Division Administrator of Employee Safety and Development in St. Louis County, MN, stated that preventing caregiver and resident injuries are top priorities at Chris Jensen.

“Management is actively engaged in all aspects of healthcare injury prevention,” said Austin, “and an important part of this process is systematically identifying risks and minimizing them with tools such as a Safe Patient Handling Program. Back injuries are common, expensive, and can result in costly workers’ compensation claims. However, a Safe Patient Handling Program implemented at the 200-bed long term care facility has resulted in a 75 percent reduction in injuries associated with patient-transfer related activities in the first year alone. The program is a win-win project because it provides significant benefits to residents, employees and the facility’s bottom line.”

During a prior two-year period, the Chris Jensen facility experienced more than 50 OSHA recordable injuries. A review of the accident and injury data determined that a high percentage of the injuries were directly related to manually transferring and repositioning patients. In nominating their Safe Patient Handling Program for this award, Director of Nurses Debra Wolf wrote, “It is nearly impossible to overstate the impact on quality of life that this program has had on staff and residents. The positive financial case for this program is strong, but from an intrinsic quality of life standpoint to the employees and residents of Chris Jensen, it is even stronger.”

Barrier Free Access is headquartered at 1207 Frontage Road NW in Byron, MN 55920, and can be contacted at 507-775-2828, or www.barrierfreeaccess.com.

Liko, the supplier of patient lifting equipment, can be contacted at 122 Grove Street, Franklin, MA 01038, 888-545-6671, www.liko.com.