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Hospitals and other healthcare facilities play an important role in maintaining the health and wellbeing of our communities. Doctors, nurses, technicians, administrators, housekeeping, and food service employees all contribute to the larger goal of helping those under their care. That’s why ensuring the safety of staff members is critical to meeting a facility’s goal of providing excellent patient care. Promoting a culture of safety within an organization ensures all employees know what to do in case of an emergency or other significant issue.
Benefits of Investing in Your Healthcare Workplace Safety
Although the advantages of creating a safe workplace culture are apparent from the get-go, there are way more far-reaching benefits than you may initially realize. The most obvious reason to invest in your organization’s safety is your staff’s health and well-being. By having safe and healthy workers, you not only reduce the costs of workers compensation claims but also have fewer days of missed work. When employees have a safe environment to work in, they are more likely to be satisfied in their role – and less likely to leave your organization.
An existing program helps create an environment where safety improvements are not only discussed but also implemented. Given how healthcare workers are readily exposed to infectious diseases, their safety and health are of the utmost importance. In fact, the healthcare industry has among some of the highest rates of work-related injuries and illnesses.
Additionally, a clean safety history is also an important factor in your organization’s reputation and patient satisfaction. If healthcare workers don’t feel safe, they’ll have trouble providing the high-quality care that patients need.
WEBINAR: Identifying Compliance Priorities To Make a Big Impact
Are Your Managers Helping to Promote a Culture of Safety?
All organizations should have dedicated safety officers that work together with other staff to improve workplace safety and culture. But what does the government say about it?
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “Several studies have found organizational factors to be the most significant predictor of safe work behaviors. Studies have shown compliance with standard precautions was increased when workers felt that their institution had a strong commitment to safety and when institutions targeted interventions at improving organizational support for employee health and safety. Also, safety culture has an important influence on the implementation of training skills and knowledge.”
5 Ways to Improve Your Organization’s Safety Culture
1. Training
Offer accessible and thorough training for staff. By using a digital learning platform, both employees and management can monitor course progress.
2. Continue to Improve
Always look for ways to improve your organization. Consider starting a safety committee composed of employees from different departments to get a clear picture of what improvements can be made for workplace safety.
3. Easy Access
Staff should have access to your health care safety plans and procedures at all times. Rather than deal with the hassle of paperwork, uploading all the healthcare worker safety plans to cloud-based software will streamline the process.
4. Improve Records
Improve your organization’s incident report procedures, record keeping, and tracking system. Using an online compliance platform, you can ensure all of your policies, procedures, and documents are in one easily accessible location for all employees.
5. Management Is Committed
Make sure that management is leading by example and taking safety seriously. When everyone is on the same page, improving workplace safety is a far more attainable goal.
Building a Culture of Safety
There are many facets to workplace safety when it comes to healthcare facilities. It can be an incredibly time-consuming process for both management and employees. Yet, with the help of software, such as MedTrainer, your organization can create a culture of safety for everyone.