these goals, and hold directors and managers accountable for meeting
them.
Conduct a thorough investigation of all employee injuries, including
a standardized interview process for the injured employee, the
employee's manager and direct supervisor, and any co-workers
involved in the incident. If opportunities and action items for prevent-
ing similar injuries are identified, discuss the actions with appropriate
administrators and committees, and quickly implement them.
• Own it. Embrace your role and responsibility in keeping your
employees safe. Check in with them on a regular basis, asking about
any ongoing problems or concerns they have regarding risk of injuries
to themselves, their colleagues or their patients. Respond to their con-
cerns promptly and appropriately with adjusted or new action items.
Make sure employees feel empowered to report safety issues either
anonymously or during staff meetings. Regular risk analyses and fol-
low-up staff surveys should be part of an your ongoing safety monitor-
ing process.
Prevent and protect
A "zero injury" initiative is achievable. If the program, system,
processes and procedures you've implemented are effective, you
should see an initial decrease in the severity of injuries, followed by
a decrease in the frequency of incidents. This data should be
tracked over a period of at least 2 to 3 years.
By implementing a good data tracking and trending system,
appropriate injury prevention action plans, successful employee
feedback programs and regular observations or audits, you should
be able to reach and maintain staff safety goals.
OSM
Ms. Boynton (teresa.boynton@gmail.com) is an independent staff and safe-
ty consultant based in Denver, Colo
Safety
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