A Risk Assessment Checklist – 3 Things to Remember

According to the National Safety Council, a worker is injured on the job every seven seconds. That equals 510 accidents per hour and 12,600 a day! However, what’s most startling is that each accident could be prevented. In an effort to combat these statistics, Gwinnett Medical Center (GMC) implemented a culture of safety to not only protect their employees, but the patients whom they care for.

GMC’s Occupational Health experts rely heavily on a risk assessment that encompasses three major elements when caring for their employees. 

While there are a number of safe guards already in place, these three key approaches are utilized most frequently, according to Roger Burnett, GMC occupational health manager:  

• Risk Identification: Find, recognize and record hazards
• Risk Analysis: Understanding consequences, probabilities and existing controls
• Risk Evaluation: Comparing levels of risk and considering additional controls

Risk Identification

Through extensive research, analysis and evaluation, GMC administrators decided to implement over-the-bed lift systems when constructing GMC’s North Tower.

“Our approach was very proactive, as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had not yet recognized this type of support system as a best practice,” Burnett said. Currently, about 65 percent of the acute-care beds (where appropriate) are equipped with such systems.

“In August 2017, OSHA noted, ‘[t]here is not a safe way to manually transfer a dependent or partially dependent patient. However, appropriately trained staff, correct equipment, and effective techniques can make all the difference.” Today, GMC continues to allocate resources for installation of additional ceiling-mounted lifts in the acute-care facilities as well as our long-term care facility.

Risk Analysis

Part of the safety-first culture at GMC encourages employees to report incidents, accidents and near-misses. This is not as a means of punishment, but as a learning experience and to proactively prevent accidents in the future. “Employees have a critical understanding of their on-the-job function and we’ve found their feedback to be extremely helpful. Through assessments, GMC looks to understand what the employee thinks lead to the accident. It could be that there was a hazard that was misidentified or a process may be the issue; either way, there is always an opportunity for improvement.”

Risk Evaluation

Should an incident occur to an employee at GMC, a thorough return-to-work physical assessment policy has been put in place to ensure the employee is safe to perform his or her original job. Administered by a physician, the assessment includes a review of the injury, history of symptoms and current treatment.

According to Burnett, the physician follows a path related to the cause for absence by reviewing a summary of the treatment plan and performing an event-related history and physical (H&P) examination. “Our ultimate goal is to assure the associate can safely return to work performing his or her essential job functions.”

To help employees get back to optimum health following a work-related injury, Gwinnett Medical Center’s Corporate Health program provides medical expertise in a caring environment. To learn more about the Corporate Health program at GMC or to speak to someone about implementing this program in your workplace, visit gwinnettmedicalcenter.org/corporatehealth or call 678-981-9147.