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Winston-Salem, NC, June 10, 2003 This week, Forsyth Medical Center (FMC) became one of the first hospitals in North Carolina to begin converting to a completely lift-free environment through the Get a Lift program created by Prevent, Inc. FMC invested nearly $500,000 in equipment that will help staff lift and transfer patients from beds, stretchers, wheelchairs, or even cars. The program will help prevent back injuries among staff, while increasing comfort and safety for patients. Staff began training with the new equipment this week and the system should be completely in place by June 23.

The Get a Lift program has three main goals: To help prevent neck, back and shoulder injuries among nurses at FMC and therefore reduce lost work hours, and to help recruit and retain nursing staff. According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), back injuries affect up to 38 percent of all nurses, and lifting, transferring and repositioning patients are the most common tasks that lead to injury. In fact, in a recent survey by ANA, 60 percent of nurses cited disabling back injuries as their top health and safety concern on the job. Even though FMC has a vacancy rate of just 4.5 to 5 percent, well below the national average of 11 percent, FMC believes this extra measure will be an added benefit for new staff, as well as for the more than 1,800 nursing staff already employed at Forsyth.

The equipment that will be in place as part of the Get a Lift program represents a new and improved version of current practices at FMC, which already meet national patient safety standards. The new equipment includes a hydraulic system that can lift up to 880 pounds and will be available for use in every department of the hospital. For patients who are not able to sit up or walk on their own, using the new equipment will be more comfortable, safer and faster than manual lifting. It will eliminate risks to both patient and staff member by preventing falls that can occur during lifting or transferring, and reducing the number of staff needed to transfer patients.

Prevent, Inc. was established in 1996 to offer healthcare facilities an affordable and effective program for reducing employee lift and transfer related injuries. Prevents Get a Lift program has been implemented in more than 250 healthcare facilities in the United States and Canada, where it has reduced the number and cost of employee lift and transfer related injuries by more than 90 percent.

Forsyth Medical Center is one of six hospitals that are part of Novant Health, a not-for-profit healthcare system based in North Carolina. In addition to Forsyth Medical Center, other hospital affiliates include Medical Park Hospital in Winston-Salem and Thomasville Medical Center in Thomasville; also Presbyterian Hospital, Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital and Presbyterian Hospital Matthews in the Charlotte area. Other facilities and programs of Novant Health include three philanthropic foundations, two nursing home and senior residential facilities, physician clinics, outpatient surgery and diagnostic centers, rehabilitation programs and community health outreach programs.

Novant Health has been nationally recognized as the Best in Industry for Working Mothers by Working Mother Magazine and one of the Top 40 Family-Friendly NC Companies by Charlotte Parent and Piedmont Parent magazines. Additionally, Novant Health has been named to the 2002 SMG Top 100 Integrated Healthcare Networks in the country.