Session Summary
Healthcare workers continue to experience one of the highest injury rates in the nation. Developing and implementing solutions is made difficult by obstacles unique to this work environment. To address the situation, Tenet Health, one of the nation’s largest hospital groups, implemented a comprehensive program that includes a safe patient handling solution to reduce injury risk exposure but also focuses on managing the first report of an injury, communicating with the employee, and active transitional duty to help effectively manage injuries when they occur. The presentation will include components of a successful program, discuss key participants and their roles, and share outcomes including reduced cost and lost time.
Compassion fatigue, burnout, and work/life balance wear heavily on healthcare professionals and cause them to leave the profession early and permanently. Coupled with heavy caseloads, limited control, long duty hours, and the reduced opportunity for sleep, these factors can lead to fatigue-related errors and injury. This session will discuss the impact of overtime on occupational injury rates, illness, and errors, and provide a review of the literature on psychological and physiological stress and their effects on sleep and fatigue. The session will also look at overtime management programs and the health effects from work schedules. Lastly, it will review Fatigue Countermeasures Programs for Nurses (FCMPN).
Speakers
Curt DeWeese
Director
Atlas Injury Prevention Solutions
Tricia Finley
Manager Workers’ Compensation/Auto
Tenet Health
Kathy Espinoza
AVP, Ergonomics & Safety
Keenan and Associates
Presentation slides can be downloaded here.