A Posey vest is a type of

medical restraint Medical restraints are physical restraints used during certain medical procedures to restrain patients with (supposedly) the minimum of discomfort and pain and to prevent them from injuring themselves or others. Rationale There are many kinds of m ...

used to restrain a

patient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other hea ...

to a

bed A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...

or chair. Its name comes from the J.T. Posey Company, its inventor, though the term "Posey" is used generically to describe all such devices. The vest is placed on the patient, and meshy straps extending from each corner are tied either individually to each side of the bed or together to the back of a chair. Poseys are most often used to prevent patients from injuring themselves by falling or climbing out of the bed or chair. They allow patients the freedom to move around their arms and legs if no

limb restraint Limb restraints can be physical restraint, physical (or psychological) restraints that inhibit an individual's movement in their arms or human leg, legs. The most common limb restraint is physical, whereby restraints are fixed to the individual ...

s have been applied. Laws in many places require Posey vests be applied with the opening at the patient's front. Misuse in which a Posey vest is applied backwards has resulted in patients being choked to death. Many lawsuits have been litigated in which a patient has died while restrained by a Posey.

Variations

A cushion belt is a belt that does not include a vest, and simply fastens around the waist, and is tied to the sides of a bed or to a chair. An alternate version of the Posey is a vest that is placed on with an opening in the back and a

back zipper A back closure is a means for fastening a garment at the rear, such as with a zipper, hooks-and-eyes or buttons. Back closures were once common on Western female clothing, but have recently become less so, especially on female casual and busine ...

, and straps that extend from the sides.

References

{{Health care Safety clothing Physical restraint

Variations

See also

References