A Smarter Approach to Turning and Repositioning with the BridgeSTAR System
- Rick Finch
- Jun 3
- 3 min read
Every healthcare organization understands the importance of turning and repositioning patients.
Regular repositioning supports skin integrity, promotes patient comfort, and helps reduce the physical demands placed on caregivers.
The challenge is consistency.
Many facilities have established turning schedules and pressure injury prevention protocols, yet maintaining compliance can become difficult when repositioning requires significant physical effort. We need to find ways to improve outcomes while protecting caregivers for one of the most common patient handling tasks performed every day.
Why Compliance Remains a Challenge
Most healthcare organizations already have turning schedules, pressure injury prevention protocols, and caregiver training programs in place. So, the challenge isn't knowing what needs to happen.
The challenge is making it happen consistently.
Even well-designed protocols can become difficult to follow during a busy shift when repositioning requires significant effort, more than two caregivers, or extra equipment.
Healthcare leaders need ways to make turning and repositioning easier to perform. The goal is simple: create a process that supports caregiver safety while making compliance more achievable.
That's where dedicated turning and repositioning systems can make a meaningful difference.
A Different Approach to Turning and Repositioning
The BridgeSTAR™ System was designed to simplify turning and repositioning while helping
organizations create a more consistent process. Rather than relying on improvised solutions, BridgeSTAR™ combines key components into a comprehensive system that supports both caregivers and patients.
Available in sheet-based and air-assisted configurations, the system can include:
BridgeSTAR sheets or BridgeAIR+STAR air-assisted mattresses
Turning wedges
Absorbent protection pads
Together, these components help caregivers perform common repositioning tasks more efficiently while supporting patient comfort and safety.
Supporting Caregiver Safety
One of the biggest barriers to repositioning compliance is the amount of effort required. Over time, repeated exposure to these forces can contribute to fatigue and increase the risk of injury.
The BridgeSTAR™ System helps reduce the effort associated with turning and repositioning by providing caregivers with dedicated tools designed specifically for these tasks. By simplifying the process, organizations can support safer patient handling practices while reducing the physical demands placed on frontline caregivers.
Improving Repositioning Compliance
Most healthcare leaders recognize that successful turning programs depend on consistency. Protocols only work when staff can realistically follow them throughout every shift.
Maintaining compliance becomes more difficult when repositioning requires significant effort. Delays can occur, especially during busy periods when staff must prioritize multiple patient care needs at once.
The BridgeSTAR™ system incorporates breathe materials allowing it to be left underneath the patient without compromising skin integrity. This helps streamline the repositioning process, making routine turns more manageable for caregivers and driving compliancy. By reducing barriers to completing the task, facilities can create an environment that supports more consistent adherence to established repositioning protocols.
Enhancing Patient Comfort and Skin Integrity
Patients benefit when caregivers can reposition them safely, efficiently, and consistently. The
BridgeSTAR™ System helps support skin integrity by assisting caregivers with movement and repositioning while reducing the friction and shear forces often associated with manual handling techniques.
The system's components work together to support proper positioning and pressure redistribution, helping facilities strengthen their overall pressure injury prevention efforts. At the same time, patients experience a more comfortable repositioning process that minimizes unnecessary movement and disruption.
Building a More Sustainable Process
Turning and repositioning will always remain a critical part of patient care. The question for healthcare organizations is how to make these tasks safer, more efficient, and easier to perform consistently.
The BridgeSTAR™ System provides a structured approach that helps caregivers manage one of the
most frequent patient handling activities they perform. By combining repositioning sheets or mattresses, wedges, and absorbent protection pads into a single solution, organizations can support caregiver safety, patient comfort, and repositioning compliance.
Giving caregivers the right tools to support the process means they can spend less time struggling with patient movement and more time focusing on patient care.
Learn More About the BridgeSTAR™ System
Every healthcare organization faces different challenges when it comes to turning and repositioning patients. Factors such as patient populations, staffing levels, room configurations, and clinical goals all play a role in determining the best solution.
If you're evaluating ways to improve your turning and repositioning program, schedule a time to meet with an EZ Way representative. Our team can assess your current process, discuss your organization's specific needs, and help design a BridgeSTAR™ System configuration that supports your caregivers, your patients, and your safe patient handling goals.
Contact EZ Way today to schedule a consultation and learn how the BridgeSTAR™ System can help create a safer, more efficient approach to turning and repositioning.
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