Jennings American Legion Hospital
Jennings American Legion Hospital Director of Education Allison Fields is an active participant in the class as she is transported from a bed using the med-line electric lift.
Maintaining an injury-free workplace is always a serious matter, especially when that workplace is a hospital. When Jennings American Legion Hospital in Louisiana approached the Loss Control team at LUBA Workers’ Comp in 2014, claims were out of control, with a substantial spike in the number of claims from 2012 to 2013. Determined to stop the claims and costs from skyrocketing further, the hospital’s director of education, Allison Fields, made it a priority to find a solution.
“At one of our Leadership Performance Improvement Team meetings, it was discussed that the number of clinical employees injured here at the hospital had increased significantly over the past two quarters,” Fields said. “As a nurse, this is very concerning, because we want all of our employees to have healthy habits when caring for our patients. Our staff’s safety is very important to us, so we knew we needed to find a solution that would decrease our work-related injuries.”
The first step was to determine the problem. “The management team at Jennings Hospital was very eager to get started. They were transparent with the issues and receptive to our process,” said Tara Probst, the ARM certified LUBA Loss Control Professional assigned to the case. “We were able to quickly determine that the root of the claims was improper patient handling.”
From there, the LUBA team worked with the hospital to develop a “Safe Patient Handling Training Course.” Probst described the program as a “train the trainer” course where they trained the supervisors that would be in charge of implementing the safety procedures for the staff. The one-day course included a Powerpoint presentation and an in-house demonstration of the proper use of various patient-handling equipment.
“During the training day, we were taught to use equipment such as the standing aid and the electric lift,” said Jennings Hospital staff member Kelly Mott. “Proper body mechanics were emphasized not only to protect staff members, but also to protect patients. Transferring patients correctly prevents injuries that are damaging to the employee and costly to the hospital.”
LUBA Workers’ Comp Loss Control Manager Brian Ricketts volunteers to act as a patient to help demonstrate how to properly use the Sara Stedy standing aid.
"After one year of having the program in place, the hospital’s loss ratio improved by more than 141 percent with patient handling claims down to zero."
“It was very hands on. Everyone, even supervisors, participating had to take turns being a handler and a patient,” said LUBA’s Probst. “Everyone was engaged with the training exercises and was eager to work with machines that they may not have used on a daily basis.” The LUBA team also brought with them a licensed physical therapist to provide an additional level of expertise on safe lifting techniques. After the hands-on exercises, the employees were given a test. At the end of the day, everyone that participated received a certificate of completion and became an official member of the “Lift Team.”
After the training concluded, the hospital developed a formal Safe Patient Handling Program with written guidelines for lifting patients. After the program’s first year in place, Jennings Hospital had improved its loss ratio by 141 percent. Perhaps even more remarkable, patient-handling claims were completely eliminated!
The Jennings American Legion Hospital afternoon class earns the title of “Lift Team” during training.
“The feedback was outstanding,” said LUBA’s Probst. “We did follow-up visits throughout the year and saw that the hospital continued to follow the policies and procedures spelled out in the program.” Though LUBA’s Loss Control team was instrumental in developing the program, the remarkable success that was achieved was due to the buy-in and commitment of the hospital’s management team and its employees. “It’s not something that happens overnight,” Probst said. “This success story is one of many LUBA’s Loss Control department could share with newsletter readers. With genuine buy-in from a policyholder and support from the agent and from LUBA, a classic 'win-win' can occur. The workers prevent painful injuries, and policyholders can save serious money!”
“We encourage our policyholders to take advantage of the no-cost loss control services that we at LUBA provide. Our broad knowledge is applicable to hundreds of different industries. LUBA is ready and willing to educate and support our policyholders,” Probst said.
Do yourself and your business a favor by contacting LUBA’s Loss Control department about a consultation at lubalosscontrol@lubawc.com or (888) 884-5822.