Mar 11, 2026 – Integrated Safety: Ergonomics and Safe Patient Handling Strategies for the Ambulatory Setting

Live and recorded on Mar 11, 2026 from 2 PM – 3 PM Eastern

Title:

A Physical Therapist to Nurse Mentorship Model: A Framework for Mobility Program Success
Presented by Loretta Miller PT, DPT, CEAS, CSPHP, CCISM and Stephanie E. Bieber, PT, DPT

Overview:

The word on the street in healthcare and in the safe patient handling world is overwhelmingly “mobility.” 2017 found geriatric medicine specialists in the United States and Canada establishing the 5Ms geriatric care concerns of which mobility is one. The 4 Ms framework for an Age-Friendly Health System includes mobility as well. Additionally, the poor outcomes associated with immobility have been vastly documented. Considering this emphasis, it generally falls to nursing staff to incorporate mobility as part of the plan of care. The amount of training that is incorporated into nursing curriculum surrounding mobility is limited if at all. The physical therapist has thorough knowledge and practical skills in transfers and ambulation. Pairing up therapists with new nurses to ensure a comfort level with patient mobilization was hypothesized to be a good model for a successful nurse driven mobility program.

Mentorship program began informally in Jan 2025 and then became formalized in July 2025. Acute care therapists were encouraged to work with unit managers to coordinate mentorship with unit nurses in facilitating mobility.  One specific unit had done this really well and attempts to duplicate it on other units were pursued.

Phase 2 included the use of therapists in the SPHM New Hires class. This 3-hour class included competency in the use of SPHM equipment. With the addition of the help of a therapist during the class, the class topics were increased to now also include the use of an air assisted device for lateral transfer to recliner with drop arm, seated side-board transfer, use of assistive devices (walker, cane, crutches, and platform walker), use of an arm sling and knee immobilizer and commode.

Phase 3 consisted of On-the-Unit Training Mobility training which ensures the new nurse is comfortable with the EMR in finding the therapy notes, activity orders, weight-bearing status and post op instructions. It also entails showing the nurse where the SPHM equipment is stored on that floor and where the SPHM soft goods are located in the supply room.

 Objectives:

1. Describe immobility harm.
2. Recognize the importance of assessing the culture of mobility present.
3. Identify barriers to mobility.
4. List steps to create a unit-based pilot program utilizing physical therapists (PT) as mentors.
5. Incorporate PT to nurse mentorship into mobility program framework.

Meet the Speakers

Dr. Miller has been a physical therapist for 30 years with experience throughout the continuum of care encompassing both adults and children. She was an APTA Certified Neurologic Specialist for 20 years and is currently certified as an Ergonomic Assessment Specialist and a Safe Patient Handling Professional. As the Safe Patient Handling Coordinator for Erie County Medical Center Corporation, she has been responsible for the development and growth of the Safe Patient Handling and Mobility program. She regularly educates staff on best practice for moving patients incorporating safe patient handling equipment. Dr. Miller is an integral leader in other workplace safety initiatives including reducing workplace violence, reducing falls and performing ergonomic assessments. Loretta was a presenter at the NYS Safe Patient Handling Conference in 2017 and 2018 and has presented at the annual ECMC Rehab Symposium on topics including, Developing a Safe Patient Handling Program and Practical Approaches to SPHM in Acute Care. She is a Director of the Board for the Association of Safe Patient Handling Professionals (ASPHP), co-chair of the Education Committee and member of the Curriculum Committee.

Dr. Bieber is a physical therapist with over 20 years of experience across all areas of acute care, in the Level I Trauma Center hospital setting. She has worked extensively as a staff therapist in intensive care units and step-down units and is currently serving as Supervisor of Rehabilitation for the Acute Therapy Department at Erie County Medical Center Corporation (ECMC).

She has played a key role in ECMC’s Progressive Mobility Initiative, providing education to nursing staff on the importance of early mobility and delivering hands-on training to both new and experienced nurses to support safe patient mobilization across a wide range of clinical presentations. She has been instrumental in the development of ECMC’s mobility-focused training program for newly hired nurses.

Dr. Bieber is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association and has presented at the annual ECMC Rehabilitation Symposium on the topic of traumatic brain injury and rehabilitation.

Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP 15826, for 1 contact hour.

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