Five Major Types of Employee Injuries

I see or hear about these every week. Yes, there are others, but you should at least have conversation with your peers about these big five:

Falls/Slips

Lifting/Strains

Sharps Sticks

Waste Disposal

Burns

I suggest as the Administrator you be able to give an off-the-cuff five minute inservice on each of these five topics. Not a schpeel, but rather genuine knowledge and demonstration on the subject. It’s worth your time to have some dialogue. Include rough statistics for your organization, signs and symptoms of potential injury, prevention methods, and examples (don’t ever use employee specifics) of real injuries in your facility.

Make yourself Quick Reference Guides for each of these topics.

I suggest as an employee (C.N.A., Registered Nurse, Dietary Aide, Housekeeping, Activities, etc.) that you understand the genuine risks associated with each of these five recurring injuries. No kidding. If you work in a place that has an employee safety committee, I strongly suggest you accept an invitation and use the opportunity to speak (in a positive way) for your organization. This could mean making suggestions about resident furniture placement (at the benefit/agreement/suggestion of the resident), potential product/care alternatives, and review of real facility incidents.

Every employee injury affects every resident and every employee. Do your part to eliminate one potential injury and impact your organization. Protect your residents, your co-workers, and yourself.