Something Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department personnel do about 80,000 times a year is going to become safer through automation.
City Council is considering a bill to appropriate $1.54 million to purchase power-loading stretchers for JFRD’s 53 rescue units.
A grant from the Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance to Firefighters Program will account for 90 percent of the appropriation with the city covering the $144,000 balance.
The power stretchers are battery-powered and hydraulically operated and will replace the manually operated stretchers now being used.
According to case studies conducted by public safety departments that use automated stretchers, the benefit for rescue personnel is a reduction of back injuries associated with lifting and pushing patients on stretchers into rescue units.
Instead of manually loading a patient, EMTs roll the stretcher to the rescue unit, then push a button and simply guide the stretcher into the vehicle.
“Back injuries account for much of our job-related injuries. We expect this new system to drastically reduce work-related injuries,” said JFRD Assistant Chief Jake Blanton.
A study presented in 2013 at the 25th annual Occupational Ergonomics and Safety Conference stated injuries related to loading patients and stretchers into rescue units are caused by awkward working postures and high-loading forces.
The study concluded the compression of spinal discs that may lead to lower-back disorders was reduced by as much as 62 percent when power stretchers are used compared to manual stretchers.
The study data has been confirmed in the field.
The Norman Regional Health System in Oklahoma operates 14 rescue units that respond to about 16,000 calls per year.
In 2010, the department identified patient loading as a significant cause of injury to rescue personnel, based on 39 back injuries that year related to lifting stretchers.
After the department installed power stretchers on its units, no work-related back injuries were recorded.
Blanton said JFRD has experienced 21 stretcher-related injury claims since Feb. 1, 2015.
Based on city risk management data, “lifting, carrying and holding” injury claims average about $133,000 per incident.
Based on the average claim, if JFRD personnel had not experienced the 21 injuries, the city would have avoided $2.8 million in costs, Blanton said.
Another factor in the case studies is that patients are getting heavier, which can contribute to back stress and increase the chance of injury to personnel while loading a patient into a rescue unit.
Blanton said during 2015, JFRD transported more than 1,800 patients that weighed at least 300 pounds.
Assuming council approves the appropriation, the new equipment will be installed beginning in December by a vendor certified by Stryker Corp., manufacturer of the stretchers.
Blanton said it will take about two months to upgrade all 53 rescue units. The work will be scheduled one rescue unit at a time to ensure there’s no shortage of available units.
Purchasing power stretchers won’t be the first time the city has used federal funds to improve public safety.
An $84,000 FEMA grant, combined with $28,000 in city funds, was used for a wind retrofit project at nine fire stations to prevent damage from winds up to 150 mph.
A $43,000 appropriation from FEMA was used to develop and implement homeland security programs for potential disasters related to liquefied natural gas and hurricanes.
The power stretcher bill — 2016-598 — is being considered by the Public Health & Safety and Finance committees.
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