Nurses have the power to educate the public and decision-makers and shine a spotlight on the dangers faced every day in health care facilities around the country due to unsafe patient handling.

By raising our voices, RNs can tell the story not only of the careers and lives ruined by unnecessary lifting injuries, but also of what we can all do to fix these problems—through state and federal laws, contract language and more.

Use the tools below to work to prevent debilitating and preventable patient lifting injuries:

• Safe patient handling fact sheet
• Fact sheet on the business case for safe patient handling
• Issue brief on HR 378
• Message platform
• Sample letters to the editor*
• Sample op-ed*
• Fact sheet on state SPH laws and pending legislation
• Resource sheet from Lynda Enos, RN, MS, COHN-S, CPE of the Oregon Nurses Association
• Model contract language from the Minnesota Nurses Association
• Examples of actual contract language

* These were developed for Nurses Week 2007, but can be changed and used for any event.