Chicago, IL - Lenore Henning, a registered nurse, invented a product to hold and organize medical tubing. The device, named The Beata Clasp, keeps tubing in place and also helps patients to become involved in their care.
Henning stated, "I came up with the idea after nursing at the bedside and continually seeing tubing slide down the bedrail and become impinged." The Beata Clasp is a latex-free, soft foam clasp with three to four grooves for tubing. It fits over a variety of medical equipment, namely bedrails and IV poles. Nurses and patients observe the functionality of the device as it holds call lights, nasal oxygen tubing, intravenous lines, and a variety of monitoring device cables. Hospital risk managers see potential for a decrease in infections caused by contaminated lines and a reduction in trips and falls caused by patient tubing.
Henning's invention has the ability to hold tubing in place on the bedrail and organize lines so that they can be easily traced from the patient to the source by medical staff. According to the Emergency Care Research Institute (ECRI), clean tracing of tubing is the best way to prevent potentially deadly tubing misconnections.
"I am able to focus on my patient's needs each time I enter the room and spend less time untangling tubing at the bedside," stated an Intensive Care Unit Nurse. Patient safety is the utmost goal of all involved with a patient's care. With patient safety in mind, Lenore Henning, the inventor and bedside nurse of 35 years, developed the product with her daughter, Anne Henning, who is also an RN. The product's slogan reads: "Bringing Safety Back to the Bedside."
"After taping medicine cups and tongue depressors to the bedrail, this product is heaven sent," said Mary Fuller, a traveling nurse. "I only wish it was on every patients' bedrail."
This is a patient safety device that organizes the multitude of lines every patient has during their hospital stay. This single-patient use device is manufactured in Illinois and is recyclable. A version with a larger diameter is due to be released as early as mid-2009, which will accommodate wider bedrails.
For details contact Anne Henning.