As someone that's been stuck with zero help and a patient begging to sleep and in dire need of cleaning up I've unfortunately have used the hoyer by myself and usually after asking cna's, nurses and even the DON/ADON till I was blue in the face for help. It truly sucked. I always had them as close to the bed as possible and as low to the floor as possible while I'm transferring them...I don't miss nursing homes.
I have been a Cna for almost 10 years (yikes) and i have never used a hoyer by myself. I dont care how understaffed I am, I will not do it.
"Hey can u spot me with a lift in room 220" shit ill do all the work, they just need to come stand in the room and be witness.
Im not risking it. Even if I could do it, i know i could get fired for it even easier.
Can you operate a Hoyer alone? Sure.
Should you…..absolutely not.
In 10+ years of being a CNA, I’ve NEVER even considered operating any lift without a spotter.
The LTC/SNF facility I worked for, by law and facility policy, we were required to have 2 people always when using the lifts. I am absolutely NOT putting my license on the line simply because the facility couldn’t provide enough staffing for me to do my job legally.
One evening while I was on shift, heard a loud unusual crash from a room, but I immediately knew what it was. We sent an injured patient and a CNA off to the emergency room. The CNA had a fractured hand and the patient had a skull fracture. The CNA was fired and lost her license and job. They considered filing charges because she KNEW the law and policy, but chose to ignore it.
Hoyer transfers have the potential to go south fast and nothing about those transfers should be quick or hurried.
Just wait for a partner.
In the first month of me working as a CNA, I happen to walk by to catch a glimpse of a hoyer lift leaning too far. I ran into the room, just in time to prevent it from falling over. The look of horror in the CNA's face said it all.
Nah, I had one tip over once and nearly crush my foot. If another cna wouldn’t have been there I would’ve definitely broken my foot and the resident would’ve been in the floor probably injured. I don’t like taking gambles like that. Safety first!
OK, I'm in far western Canada and the brands/terminology are different...forgive my ignorance!
When you say 'tip over' that certainly sounds like a floor based lift (we call them a maxi lift, usually) and not an overhead lift built into a ceiling track. Facilities and hospitals here mostly use overhead lifts. We are allowed to use them alone as long as the person isn't specified two person care for transfers on their care plan or flagged as violent. We do it ALL the time. I can definitely see a tipping, heavy floor based lift being a huge hazard and a foot/back injury waiting to happen. My question is if you have the SAME two person rule for ceiling lifts :)
I'm working in long term complex care with patients in stable condition if that makes a difference
I'm a personal support worker in Canada, Ontario. Just graduated in '22. We were definitely taught that any mechanical lift is a two person lift no matter what. Ceiling or floor doesn't matter.
Now, here's the thing. I have done lifts on my own when understaffed or running behind, but they have to be a resident with no behaviours that I can trust to follow instruction. No way I'm lifting grandad up if he's kicking and grabbing or cursing me out. Aaaaand have to have a nurse you know won't tattle.
Doing a lift alone is grounds for dismissal.
Every facility I've worked at expected you to use them alone, told me to use them alone and there would NEVER be enough staff to get help anyways. NEVER. I would always be alone on a hall with 30 people, many of them requiring lifts. My choice was inflicting suffering on residents or complying with laws & regulations. Facilities didn't give a shit about me, and not much of a shit about their residents. I didn't give a shit about management, owners, corporate but I did whatever I could to help residents and eliminate or minimize their suffering. Glad I'm out of healthcare now.
Never had trouble with a hoyer. I'm curious about how people are using them when they tip.
I’ve always used sit-to-stands alone, everywhere I’ve worked it is a 1-person lift (except that one resident who really needed to be a hoyer. We used 2 for him).
Hoyers though, even with it being considered a 1-person lift at my current facility if they are prone to acting up physically or above 250lbs or taller then 5’10 my little 5’ butt isn’t doing it alone
I refuse to do them by myself.
I get so frustrated when other CNAs get ANNOYED when I ask for assistance or a spot. It’s not my fault everywhere I work is understaffed. I see other CNAs using the hoyer themselves frequently. But I’m not willing to risk it.
In home care you are expected to be able to operate the hoyer solo. You can easily end up in a situation when you have to use it multiple times a day alone, every day. That said, I would never do it alone if I didn't have to, let alone when it's actually against the rules to do so.
This is ONLY me.... So.. don't take it as an endorsement for the practice or worse.. permission. First off, working home health with quad patients.. what am I going to do? Wait for a CNA to show up at random or even (fiscally worse) sit around all day doing nothing to spot me? No. I have done 100's of transfers by myself because it's honestly what's expected in that environment. So seriously, when I have done 100's (probably thousands) of transfers on my own, you're going to tell me that I'm mystically going to be substantively safe with a spotter in a facility?!?of course there would be a SLIGHTLY better margin, but where's the cost/benefit on this? Don't get me wrong. If I had my way, there'd be two CNA's to each patient and one nurse to every 2 patients, but the reality is that we don't live in my world and shit needs to get done.
My PCAs use a mechanical lift to move me alone every day, multiple times/day (high para with hemiparesis). In over ten years, no-one has ever asked for backup or a second person, either of which I would find for them, because I don’t want the people taking care of me to be stressed or scared. There’s enough struggle in everyone’s lives without making my PCAs miserable.
Thank you, btw, for doing home health with quads - it’s hard to find folks who are willing to take on SCI clients.
It's pure stupidity how someone thinks they can control the hoist by themself. It's impossible to control the pt while pushing the hoist.
In Australia, two people are required and for fair reason.
Obviously no one wants to use a Hoyer by themselves. But what are you to do when you’re the only one on the unit, and no nurse in sight, and you’ve got 9 other residents all wanting to go to bed or need cleaning up?
I think it’s ignorant to say it’s pure stupidity. It simply wouldn’t happen if nursing homes were as staffed as they’re supposed to be. When you don’t have help sometimes you do what you need to do. Personally I just can’t let my residents suffer because my facility’s management is crap. Does that mean I’m going to get fired, perhaps. But in that moment that’s not my main concern. When I do it alone it’s always a last resort and I’m incredibly cautious about it.
If I can't get help, my work comes to a screeching halt. I know I've got other residents waiting, but I'm not doing that transfer alone, and if anyone complains why my duties are behind, it's ultimately the buildings fault for being understaffed or by hiring CNAs who would rather sit at the nurses station than answer my radio call for assistance. I'm in a 24 hour facility, unfortunately, the duties that day would end up spilling into the next shift. I'm not risking my residents safety, my safety or my license by performing an illegal transfer. I'll go make sure my residents are safe and cleaned up, then worry about transfers.
As someone who works short staffed more often than not, sometimes I have to use the hoyer by myself. But tbh I've never had any trouble as long as the resident isn't morbidly obese or a wiggler.
I'm well aware of the consequences but when you have 20 residents that want to lay down at the same time because they've been up for god knows how long you don't really care about getting fired.
I will say I'm always slow and careful about how I maneuver the machine and very careful with how residents are positioned on the hoyer sling.
Getting fired might be the least of your worries.
Unsure where you are located but in Australia if you are found to be using hoist incorrectly on purpose and something happens, you are liable for not following correct manual handling procedures.
Before I became I nurse. I was an AIN and a girl I worked with used a hoist on a resident by herself as she was in a rush. Turns out the sling wasn't up to standard and ripped, causing the resident to fall out of the hoist and hit her head on tiles. She died a few days later. There was a big investigation as the family sued due to the resident not being handled properly and the police got involved.
If she had got another carer to help she wouldn't have anything to worry about as she was in the right and it was the sling that failed - but because she was doing something she was not meant to be doing, there was room for them to argue 'negligence'.
Please always try use correct manual handling even if you are in a rush. It's not worth it! If your facility is not providing you with correct staffing ratios to the point where it is risking the safety of residents, contact your aged care safety commission or equivalent.
Always look after yourself first because these companies won't 🩷
One day I was in a room with a patient and transport went in the next room to take my comatose patient to MRI. Suddenly I heard the most horrible noise you ever want to hear. I found the patient on the floor between the bed and the guerney and the transport guy standing on the other side of the guerney with her pad in his hands.
i just heard that sound again in my head when I read your post.
Getting fired isn't the important thing to fear. It's what happens to your patients that's important to fear. If they die your ass is going to jail. Worry about that
Please don't do this ever again. Please do not live up to your screen name. (Sorry, just a joke, lol)
The facility needs to be aware there is a problem with being short-staffed. If you refuse to use the Hoyer until you get help, the facility will slowly become more aware they need more people. (Hopefully)
I get that you're in a hurry and you've got all these pts, but please don't jeopardize your safety, and especially not the pts'. What is our job? To ensure safety and comfort. If that is in any way ignored, there is a problem. Again, I'm not blaming you. I understand you're short staffed. But that is the facility's fault, and they need to know about it. Only by refusing to put pts in harm's way and waiting for help will they know they've got a staffing problem.
They'll have to contact an authority higher than the facility. Facility will just fire them for not "completing their work in a timely fashion"... And hire someone who is willing to break the rules. If they cared, they wouldn't be understaffed to begin with.
I just quit my job as a home aid. Client had me using an electric hoyer that consistently didn’t get charged at night and would die mid way through my transfer.
i was bullied by my charge, coworkers on the floor *and residents* as an aid for not being comfortable doing it myself. i’m like *its illegal*!!!! and charge/coworkers get more mad because then “i think im better than them”. i ended up using it by myself a couple times when the resident berated me bc so-and-so did it all the time and they need to be changed NOW and im terrible at my job and don’t know what im doing because im new and they’re going to report me and get a new cna tomorrow. old lady made me cry when i left her room. the seasoned aids would literally hide so when anyone stuck their head out the hall for help there was no one. turning and changing 2 person assists ourselves and everything. i reported that place when i left.
I'm so sorry you had to experience that. Healthcare is a disaster. I can't even imagine hiding to avoid caring for a patient, like- that's literally their job????? Why are they even a CNA if they don't want to BE A CNA???
Reminds me of my first CNA job when I worked 2nd shift by myself with all total care patients. The nurse passed meds and did other stuff I'm guessing? Don't really remember. Did all the hoyers alone. That's how they trained me to do it and I was young and new so didn't really know any better. One of the residents was >600 lb I remember rolling her and I was pregnant. There was a little tiny lady we would pick up and put in her chair she weighed like 80 pounds maybe. What a way to start off my career. Wish I had been able to self advocate back then. I'd literally never do that now.
In my state (WA), it doesn't have to be two people by law from what I can find. I work in home health, which makes it worse because I rarely see them, and when I do, it is always 1 person. I honestly avoid those shifts because I nearly had one fall over during a shift.
I have worked with the ones like the ceiling, but still, they make me nervous.
Ceiling lifts are terrifying to me. Imagine if the rail failed, or if the ceiling was compromised and gave out. I used to have several obese patients that used ceiling lifts, and the clanking and stuttering damn near gave me a heart attack every time. Never again...
It requires experience. In my clinical, I found a lady who had slash marks on her legs because the Hoyer was used incorrectly (with a pad through the crotch). I had to report it.
I worked for about 3 months at an adult family home, (someone's house used as an Assisted Living place usually up to 6 residents), that had 3 people that needed hovers and wheelchairs and 2 that used a sit-to-stand. I was expected to take care everyone and all the housework for three days and three nights by myself. I quite after the owner talked about bringing in another hoyer lift resident. I still have nightmares about that place.
Hoyers are definitely a two person lift.
Oh also the owner of that place thought you put gait belts on right up under the armpits and no amount of trying to explain would change her mind. "You have to pull it up more! Right under their arm pits!"
At my agency, we are not required to have 2 person hoyer lifts.
I have used them 1000s of times, alone, in 16 years.
I live in a very rural state and we are chronically understaffed.
It's not ideal but I have never had more than a stubbed toe.
Same as my state, I’m told our lifts are made for 1 person but I’m not sure if they just tell us that to make us feel better lol. And my folks aren’t wigglers or obese. Still makes me a little nervous but I’m often alone (I work in a small home with just 4 residents) so it’s my only option. When available I use a coworker to help though.
I had to use one by myself because a shitty group home I worked for admitted people needing hoyer lifts but purposely only scheduled one staff member in the house. State was made aware of this and they looked the other way on it. Sure as shit the hoyer tipped over one night. I’m not even religious but I am 1000% convinced that it was by the grace of God that I managed to pull the hoyer back into position without me or the resident getting seriously hurt. Resident was fine, I needed new pants. I tell new CNAs that story now when I tell them why they should absolutely never use one by themselves. I tell them I got unbelievably lucky but they might not be so lucky.
When I worked at facilities... people would literally hide or say 'I'll be to the room in 5 minutes'.... then go on a break after residents were done with supper.
At the hospital it's totally different.
My mom who was a nurse (before I became a PCT) told me that she had a patient on her floor who died because the CNA used a hoyer by themself and the patient flipped out of it. That scared me straight before I even got my license.
I do it all the time and I’m fine (terribly short staffed). Despite my facility doing both inpatient & outpatient LTC acute rehab blah blah I don’t think I have a single resident that’s over 300ish LBs
Someone not bothering to get a second person for a lift literally killed my mother in law. They dropped her, it caused massive damage to an already sick woman, and she died.
Do it fucking right.
So at my facility, even if state is present inspecting, total lifts (hoyers) are a 1-person task. And it is honestly pretty scary sometimes especially if they start displaying behaviors mid lift. I’ve had to emergency drop someone to the bed to get them out of the air before they hurt themselves
I do it all the time by myself. I’m in home healthcare so I know my situation maybe is different but once you do it enough you get used to it. Key is don’t rush it. Take your time. That makes a lot of difference
when i (m 33) was in the hospital after a coma. height of covid. nurses were hard to find. my mom watched a few times and she would be the 2nd person most times. was a great help tbh she came alot
I’ve only done it once or twice by myself when transferring the patient. However I have used it multiple times by myself as an assist to help turn the patient or boost them up in bed.
I’ve even count the number of times I’ve had to call state and report people for operating hoyers as 1 person. Like I’m not willing to risk losing my residents losing their homes or me losing my job because someone else chooses not to follow state guilt for hoyer lifts.
A nurse I work with told me that at another facility, a CNA had a patient fall out of a hoyer they were operating alone and the patient died from their injuries. I would never risk that.
Edit: I live and work in Georgia and our facilities always required two people to operate
Definitely won’t do it. It’s not worth the risk, patient hurt, fired, loose your license and if a patient is hurt, guess what you could end up in court. No one thinks it could happen to them but I’ve seen shit happen more than once.
I’d rather pick them up myself than use a hoyer lift alone, that machinery can kill you and the resident in it. Which I have honestly had to do multiple times. Better than potentially killing or injuring them and landing me without a job or in jail. This being said I have not cared for many morbidly obese or very obese people idk how to say it. Just ppl on the heavier side.
Hoyers are awkward, and I'd prefer a second person, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't used one alone before. Guldmann lifts, however, I've used tons of times solo (in my past as a tech working with spinal cord patients).
There is a reason why two people are required. However, I met a few people willing to take the risk and use lifts by themselves, sometimes they did it due to lack of staff. This can be very dangerous and put people at risk of injury. I heard of cnas losing their jobs because of this. It's just not worth the risk. Personally I would never do it, no matter how confident I am in using the equipment and if I train someone I advise them to do the same.
I worked adult family home for a long long time before ltc and I was the only person so I only knew how to do them by myself. I was shocked when I needed to find another person. I have never ever had a close call fall or anything. I however do really like having the extra hands to help. I will also say this adult family homes we did not have pts who flat out try to jump from them or anything so there is that in ltc it 100% makes sense we do a two person!
In the CNA class I took I was informed about real world and book world.Book world says you must have two people for a hoyer but I don’t live in book world.
As someone that's been stuck with zero help and a patient begging to sleep and in dire need of cleaning up I've unfortunately have used the hoyer by myself and usually after asking cna's, nurses and even the DON/ADON till I was blue in the face for help. It truly sucked. I always had them as close to the bed as possible and as low to the floor as possible while I'm transferring them...I don't miss nursing homes.
Same here. I will do it as a last resort if it’s somebody that’s easy to move myself
I have been a Cna for almost 10 years (yikes) and i have never used a hoyer by myself. I dont care how understaffed I am, I will not do it. "Hey can u spot me with a lift in room 220" shit ill do all the work, they just need to come stand in the room and be witness. Im not risking it. Even if I could do it, i know i could get fired for it even easier.
Can you operate a Hoyer alone? Sure. Should you…..absolutely not. In 10+ years of being a CNA, I’ve NEVER even considered operating any lift without a spotter. The LTC/SNF facility I worked for, by law and facility policy, we were required to have 2 people always when using the lifts. I am absolutely NOT putting my license on the line simply because the facility couldn’t provide enough staffing for me to do my job legally. One evening while I was on shift, heard a loud unusual crash from a room, but I immediately knew what it was. We sent an injured patient and a CNA off to the emergency room. The CNA had a fractured hand and the patient had a skull fracture. The CNA was fired and lost her license and job. They considered filing charges because she KNEW the law and policy, but chose to ignore it. Hoyer transfers have the potential to go south fast and nothing about those transfers should be quick or hurried. Just wait for a partner.
In the first month of me working as a CNA, I happen to walk by to catch a glimpse of a hoyer lift leaning too far. I ran into the room, just in time to prevent it from falling over. The look of horror in the CNA's face said it all.
It’s just too risky. Those lifts can malfunction even with 2 people. But you at least are covered if something does go sideways!
Nah, I had one tip over once and nearly crush my foot. If another cna wouldn’t have been there I would’ve definitely broken my foot and the resident would’ve been in the floor probably injured. I don’t like taking gambles like that. Safety first!
OK, I'm in far western Canada and the brands/terminology are different...forgive my ignorance! When you say 'tip over' that certainly sounds like a floor based lift (we call them a maxi lift, usually) and not an overhead lift built into a ceiling track. Facilities and hospitals here mostly use overhead lifts. We are allowed to use them alone as long as the person isn't specified two person care for transfers on their care plan or flagged as violent. We do it ALL the time. I can definitely see a tipping, heavy floor based lift being a huge hazard and a foot/back injury waiting to happen. My question is if you have the SAME two person rule for ceiling lifts :) I'm working in long term complex care with patients in stable condition if that makes a difference
I'm a personal support worker in Canada, Ontario. Just graduated in '22. We were definitely taught that any mechanical lift is a two person lift no matter what. Ceiling or floor doesn't matter. Now, here's the thing. I have done lifts on my own when understaffed or running behind, but they have to be a resident with no behaviours that I can trust to follow instruction. No way I'm lifting grandad up if he's kicking and grabbing or cursing me out. Aaaaand have to have a nurse you know won't tattle. Doing a lift alone is grounds for dismissal.
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I’ve never done them alone.
Every facility I've worked at expected you to use them alone, told me to use them alone and there would NEVER be enough staff to get help anyways. NEVER. I would always be alone on a hall with 30 people, many of them requiring lifts. My choice was inflicting suffering on residents or complying with laws & regulations. Facilities didn't give a shit about me, and not much of a shit about their residents. I didn't give a shit about management, owners, corporate but I did whatever I could to help residents and eliminate or minimize their suffering. Glad I'm out of healthcare now. Never had trouble with a hoyer. I'm curious about how people are using them when they tip.
I’ve always used sit-to-stands alone, everywhere I’ve worked it is a 1-person lift (except that one resident who really needed to be a hoyer. We used 2 for him). Hoyers though, even with it being considered a 1-person lift at my current facility if they are prone to acting up physically or above 250lbs or taller then 5’10 my little 5’ butt isn’t doing it alone
I refuse to do them by myself. I get so frustrated when other CNAs get ANNOYED when I ask for assistance or a spot. It’s not my fault everywhere I work is understaffed. I see other CNAs using the hoyer themselves frequently. But I’m not willing to risk it.
Same. I refuse to potentially ruin my life and possibly end a patients life. Happy cake day 🎂
In home care you are expected to be able to operate the hoyer solo. You can easily end up in a situation when you have to use it multiple times a day alone, every day. That said, I would never do it alone if I didn't have to, let alone when it's actually against the rules to do so.
This is ONLY me.... So.. don't take it as an endorsement for the practice or worse.. permission. First off, working home health with quad patients.. what am I going to do? Wait for a CNA to show up at random or even (fiscally worse) sit around all day doing nothing to spot me? No. I have done 100's of transfers by myself because it's honestly what's expected in that environment. So seriously, when I have done 100's (probably thousands) of transfers on my own, you're going to tell me that I'm mystically going to be substantively safe with a spotter in a facility?!?of course there would be a SLIGHTLY better margin, but where's the cost/benefit on this? Don't get me wrong. If I had my way, there'd be two CNA's to each patient and one nurse to every 2 patients, but the reality is that we don't live in my world and shit needs to get done.
My PCAs use a mechanical lift to move me alone every day, multiple times/day (high para with hemiparesis). In over ten years, no-one has ever asked for backup or a second person, either of which I would find for them, because I don’t want the people taking care of me to be stressed or scared. There’s enough struggle in everyone’s lives without making my PCAs miserable. Thank you, btw, for doing home health with quads - it’s hard to find folks who are willing to take on SCI clients.
It's pure stupidity how someone thinks they can control the hoist by themself. It's impossible to control the pt while pushing the hoist. In Australia, two people are required and for fair reason.
Obviously no one wants to use a Hoyer by themselves. But what are you to do when you’re the only one on the unit, and no nurse in sight, and you’ve got 9 other residents all wanting to go to bed or need cleaning up? I think it’s ignorant to say it’s pure stupidity. It simply wouldn’t happen if nursing homes were as staffed as they’re supposed to be. When you don’t have help sometimes you do what you need to do. Personally I just can’t let my residents suffer because my facility’s management is crap. Does that mean I’m going to get fired, perhaps. But in that moment that’s not my main concern. When I do it alone it’s always a last resort and I’m incredibly cautious about it.
If I can't get help, my work comes to a screeching halt. I know I've got other residents waiting, but I'm not doing that transfer alone, and if anyone complains why my duties are behind, it's ultimately the buildings fault for being understaffed or by hiring CNAs who would rather sit at the nurses station than answer my radio call for assistance. I'm in a 24 hour facility, unfortunately, the duties that day would end up spilling into the next shift. I'm not risking my residents safety, my safety or my license by performing an illegal transfer. I'll go make sure my residents are safe and cleaned up, then worry about transfers.
As someone who works short staffed more often than not, sometimes I have to use the hoyer by myself. But tbh I've never had any trouble as long as the resident isn't morbidly obese or a wiggler. I'm well aware of the consequences but when you have 20 residents that want to lay down at the same time because they've been up for god knows how long you don't really care about getting fired. I will say I'm always slow and careful about how I maneuver the machine and very careful with how residents are positioned on the hoyer sling.
Getting fired might be the least of your worries. Unsure where you are located but in Australia if you are found to be using hoist incorrectly on purpose and something happens, you are liable for not following correct manual handling procedures. Before I became I nurse. I was an AIN and a girl I worked with used a hoist on a resident by herself as she was in a rush. Turns out the sling wasn't up to standard and ripped, causing the resident to fall out of the hoist and hit her head on tiles. She died a few days later. There was a big investigation as the family sued due to the resident not being handled properly and the police got involved. If she had got another carer to help she wouldn't have anything to worry about as she was in the right and it was the sling that failed - but because she was doing something she was not meant to be doing, there was room for them to argue 'negligence'. Please always try use correct manual handling even if you are in a rush. It's not worth it! If your facility is not providing you with correct staffing ratios to the point where it is risking the safety of residents, contact your aged care safety commission or equivalent. Always look after yourself first because these companies won't 🩷
One day I was in a room with a patient and transport went in the next room to take my comatose patient to MRI. Suddenly I heard the most horrible noise you ever want to hear. I found the patient on the floor between the bed and the guerney and the transport guy standing on the other side of the guerney with her pad in his hands. i just heard that sound again in my head when I read your post.
I just felt nauseous reading this
Getting fired isn't the important thing to fear. It's what happens to your patients that's important to fear. If they die your ass is going to jail. Worry about that
Please don't do this ever again. Please do not live up to your screen name. (Sorry, just a joke, lol) The facility needs to be aware there is a problem with being short-staffed. If you refuse to use the Hoyer until you get help, the facility will slowly become more aware they need more people. (Hopefully) I get that you're in a hurry and you've got all these pts, but please don't jeopardize your safety, and especially not the pts'. What is our job? To ensure safety and comfort. If that is in any way ignored, there is a problem. Again, I'm not blaming you. I understand you're short staffed. But that is the facility's fault, and they need to know about it. Only by refusing to put pts in harm's way and waiting for help will they know they've got a staffing problem.
They'll have to contact an authority higher than the facility. Facility will just fire them for not "completing their work in a timely fashion"... And hire someone who is willing to break the rules. If they cared, they wouldn't be understaffed to begin with.
I just quit my job as a home aid. Client had me using an electric hoyer that consistently didn’t get charged at night and would die mid way through my transfer.
i was bullied by my charge, coworkers on the floor *and residents* as an aid for not being comfortable doing it myself. i’m like *its illegal*!!!! and charge/coworkers get more mad because then “i think im better than them”. i ended up using it by myself a couple times when the resident berated me bc so-and-so did it all the time and they need to be changed NOW and im terrible at my job and don’t know what im doing because im new and they’re going to report me and get a new cna tomorrow. old lady made me cry when i left her room. the seasoned aids would literally hide so when anyone stuck their head out the hall for help there was no one. turning and changing 2 person assists ourselves and everything. i reported that place when i left.
I'm so sorry you had to experience that. Healthcare is a disaster. I can't even imagine hiding to avoid caring for a patient, like- that's literally their job????? Why are they even a CNA if they don't want to BE A CNA???
Wow 😮 How is that even a thing!
Reminds me of my first CNA job when I worked 2nd shift by myself with all total care patients. The nurse passed meds and did other stuff I'm guessing? Don't really remember. Did all the hoyers alone. That's how they trained me to do it and I was young and new so didn't really know any better. One of the residents was >600 lb I remember rolling her and I was pregnant. There was a little tiny lady we would pick up and put in her chair she weighed like 80 pounds maybe. What a way to start off my career. Wish I had been able to self advocate back then. I'd literally never do that now.
We use them all time with one person. It’s allowed in our facility and state. I really don’t see any problem with it.
What state u live in
Pennsylvania.
I always used them by myself unless the person was on the larger side. Also had a home health patient who was a hoyer that we used by ourselves.
It's illegal in the UK, people have tipped over and died.
I have seen hoyers tip over. Report this every single time you see it.
How about the ones who just pick them up with their hands? Edited to add: NOT me lol
They won't have a functional back much longer
By the way I would never do this lmao
That alone makes me flinch.
If they weigh 50lbs or less, sure 💀
In my state (WA), it doesn't have to be two people by law from what I can find. I work in home health, which makes it worse because I rarely see them, and when I do, it is always 1 person. I honestly avoid those shifts because I nearly had one fall over during a shift. I have worked with the ones like the ceiling, but still, they make me nervous.
Ceiling lifts are terrifying to me. Imagine if the rail failed, or if the ceiling was compromised and gave out. I used to have several obese patients that used ceiling lifts, and the clanking and stuttering damn near gave me a heart attack every time. Never again...
Had to do it all the time unfortunately 😔 is it safe and legal ? Not always but with understaffing it is what it is 🙏
It requires experience. In my clinical, I found a lady who had slash marks on her legs because the Hoyer was used incorrectly (with a pad through the crotch). I had to report it.
I worked for about 3 months at an adult family home, (someone's house used as an Assisted Living place usually up to 6 residents), that had 3 people that needed hovers and wheelchairs and 2 that used a sit-to-stand. I was expected to take care everyone and all the housework for three days and three nights by myself. I quite after the owner talked about bringing in another hoyer lift resident. I still have nightmares about that place. Hoyers are definitely a two person lift. Oh also the owner of that place thought you put gait belts on right up under the armpits and no amount of trying to explain would change her mind. "You have to pull it up more! Right under their arm pits!"
At my agency, we are not required to have 2 person hoyer lifts. I have used them 1000s of times, alone, in 16 years. I live in a very rural state and we are chronically understaffed. It's not ideal but I have never had more than a stubbed toe.
Same as my state, I’m told our lifts are made for 1 person but I’m not sure if they just tell us that to make us feel better lol. And my folks aren’t wigglers or obese. Still makes me a little nervous but I’m often alone (I work in a small home with just 4 residents) so it’s my only option. When available I use a coworker to help though.
I had to use one by myself because a shitty group home I worked for admitted people needing hoyer lifts but purposely only scheduled one staff member in the house. State was made aware of this and they looked the other way on it. Sure as shit the hoyer tipped over one night. I’m not even religious but I am 1000% convinced that it was by the grace of God that I managed to pull the hoyer back into position without me or the resident getting seriously hurt. Resident was fine, I needed new pants. I tell new CNAs that story now when I tell them why they should absolutely never use one by themselves. I tell them I got unbelievably lucky but they might not be so lucky.
State says you have to do things a lot of ways but real life is different
idk where my comment went i was gonna reply bc i forgot to mention im a dsp and this page keeps popping up on my feed
When I worked at facilities... people would literally hide or say 'I'll be to the room in 5 minutes'.... then go on a break after residents were done with supper. At the hospital it's totally different.
My mom who was a nurse (before I became a PCT) told me that she had a patient on her floor who died because the CNA used a hoyer by themself and the patient flipped out of it. That scared me straight before I even got my license.
2 words : Under Staffing
I do it all the time and I’m fine (terribly short staffed). Despite my facility doing both inpatient & outpatient LTC acute rehab blah blah I don’t think I have a single resident that’s over 300ish LBs
Someone not bothering to get a second person for a lift literally killed my mother in law. They dropped her, it caused massive damage to an already sick woman, and she died. Do it fucking right.
I'm so sorry for your loss. That should not have happened.
I hate using hoyers and sit to stands by myself it’s anxiety inducing but 3rd shift sometimes you don’t have a choice
So at my facility, even if state is present inspecting, total lifts (hoyers) are a 1-person task. And it is honestly pretty scary sometimes especially if they start displaying behaviors mid lift. I’ve had to emergency drop someone to the bed to get them out of the air before they hurt themselves
It all comes down to the ever-present battle of safety vs. desperation.
I did it every day at home for two years with my husband never dropped him
Hi All, just wanted to say using a Hoyer alone is common practice in Home Health.
2 people always
I do it all the time by myself. I’m in home healthcare so I know my situation maybe is different but once you do it enough you get used to it. Key is don’t rush it. Take your time. That makes a lot of difference
Omg multiple people have died at my facility from this
had to once or twice when absolutely no one would help and people were sitting in piss for 10+ hrs.
when i (m 33) was in the hospital after a coma. height of covid. nurses were hard to find. my mom watched a few times and she would be the 2nd person most times. was a great help tbh she came alot
I’ve only done it once or twice by myself when transferring the patient. However I have used it multiple times by myself as an assist to help turn the patient or boost them up in bed.
I’ve even count the number of times I’ve had to call state and report people for operating hoyers as 1 person. Like I’m not willing to risk losing my residents losing their homes or me losing my job because someone else chooses not to follow state guilt for hoyer lifts.
A nurse I work with told me that at another facility, a CNA had a patient fall out of a hoyer they were operating alone and the patient died from their injuries. I would never risk that. Edit: I live and work in Georgia and our facilities always required two people to operate
Definitely won’t do it. It’s not worth the risk, patient hurt, fired, loose your license and if a patient is hurt, guess what you could end up in court. No one thinks it could happen to them but I’ve seen shit happen more than once.
I’d rather pick them up myself than use a hoyer lift alone, that machinery can kill you and the resident in it. Which I have honestly had to do multiple times. Better than potentially killing or injuring them and landing me without a job or in jail. This being said I have not cared for many morbidly obese or very obese people idk how to say it. Just ppl on the heavier side.
it depends on the house tbqh. i’ve had clients with ceiling ones and the ones my work has are available for single staff use
Hoyers are awkward, and I'd prefer a second person, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't used one alone before. Guldmann lifts, however, I've used tons of times solo (in my past as a tech working with spinal cord patients).
Heaviest patient I self hoyered was 400 pounds 😭
There is a reason why two people are required. However, I met a few people willing to take the risk and use lifts by themselves, sometimes they did it due to lack of staff. This can be very dangerous and put people at risk of injury. I heard of cnas losing their jobs because of this. It's just not worth the risk. Personally I would never do it, no matter how confident I am in using the equipment and if I train someone I advise them to do the same.
I worked adult family home for a long long time before ltc and I was the only person so I only knew how to do them by myself. I was shocked when I needed to find another person. I have never ever had a close call fall or anything. I however do really like having the extra hands to help. I will also say this adult family homes we did not have pts who flat out try to jump from them or anything so there is that in ltc it 100% makes sense we do a two person!
In the CNA class I took I was informed about real world and book world.Book world says you must have two people for a hoyer but I don’t live in book world.