AliMed (www.alimed.com) has been successfully selling gait belts used by rehabilitating patients to steady themselves as they walk. These belts get constant use and are handled by many people daily in a healthcare environment, making them a source of cross-contamination and a focus of infection control. The traditional gait belt material was woven cotton and then plastics offered the capability of cleaning and sanitizing with spray and wipe. The first plastic gaits belts though had the buckles stitched and the stitches and stitch holes meant potential contamination hazards.
BioPlastics offered a very sensible and highly innovative solution. The buckle is not stitched, but welded and this completely removes the issue of stitches, stitch holes and places where contaminants can lurk. And then BioPlastics took a further step, and sealed the tubular ends of the belt closed as well. First-generation gait belts also had unsealed ends where the tube terminated and this was an other contamination hazard. BioPlastics solved all these problems in the first fully enclosed, sealed gait belt that is both wipeable and sanitizable using healthcare grade disinfectants.
This has delivered a competitive advantage to AliMed and a huge benefit to facilities that use the product. Late in 2008, the concept of Never Events was launched by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In essence, this meant that a number of hospital acquired problems, that should not have been acquired by patients were no longer reimbursable and had to be remedied at the cost of the facility. Amongst these Never Events is Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs). By reducing the potential for cross-contamination, the new gait belts developed for AliMed by BioPlastics assist in reducing HAIs and benefit patient and facility alike.
AliMed is committed to strong measures to protect patients and the wipeable gait belt is a perfect example of the quality of research & development, coupled with competent manufacture and innovative products that yield these results.
