Patient & Equipment Transporter

About the role

Everyone is a caregiver at UMass Memorial Health – regardless of their title or responsibilities. This position involves transporting patients throughout the hospital, assisting with patient transfers, and delivering various items.

Responsibilities

• Escorts ambulatory patients.
• Transports patient by wheelchair, stretcher or bed.
• Prior to transport, verifies identification of all patients assigned by checking 2 identifiers and signing off on Safe Patient Transport Forms; notifies clinician if discrepancy on forms.
• To ensure patient comfort and safety during transport process, monitors and responds to basic patient needs before, during and after transport.
• Provides appropriate handoff communication when patient is delivered to receiving unit.
• Affords assistance to nursing staff and/or lift tech in moving and positioning of patients using various lift devices in preparation of patient for transport and returning patient to bed.
• Includes lateral transfer of patients on precaution status that requires Patient Transporter to use personal protection equipment and to follow infection control process per precaution isolation-type.
• Delivers stretchers, beds, cribs and wheelchairs as needed.
• Assists in deep-cleaning of all transport equipment on a biannual basis.
• Sanitizes transport vehicles and ancillary equipment between patient use.
• Transports patient specimens to and from the Lab, Pathology, and blood products to/from the Blood Bank in accordance with established infection control guidelines.
• Transports contaminated equipment to Sterile Processing within same infection control guidelines.
• Delivers other materials such as medical records, pharmaceuticals, X-ray films, sterile items, and miscellaneous reports and items as required.
• Checks E-cylinders (portable O2 tanks) for content; distributes/exchanges E-cylinders throughout the hospital.
• Interacts with a web-based dispatch system TDSS via alpha paging for job assignment; maintains individual Transporter Trip Log and other statistical records as required.
• May participate in Emergency Department triage transport assignment during disaster situations including CODE HELP, assist in transport of trauma patients and transport of deceased victims to the morgue.
• Guides and assists patients through decontamination unit.
• May assume the role of a dispatcher if trained and as directed.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Ability to read, write, speak and understand English.
• Good inter-personal skills and a customer service orientation to maintain a collaborative, patient focused effort between Patient Transportation and other hospital departments.
• Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification within 6 months of hire (preferred).
• Six months’ experience in a hospital environment (preferred).

Physical Demands And Environmental Conditions

Work is considered sedentary. Position requires work indoors in a normal office environment.