‘We’re more safety-conscious now’
Tuesday, January 16, 2007 -- Natalie Miller

From wearing ice grips on their shoes when they take out the garbage to cleaning up a spill on the floor immediately, Pleasant Meadow Manor staff are employing more safety-conscious practices, says the home’s administrator.

An OMNI-wide emphasis in 2006 on health and safety was carried out at the Norwood long-term care home through its participation in the Dunk & Associates Safety Group training program, co-ordination of in-services and improved practices in reporting injuries and near misses.

“It’s all of our responsibility to keep a safe workplace,” says Connie Garden, the home’s administrator.

“(Injuries) do happen from time to time. We’re more safety-conscious now.”

Connie and Shari Bertrand, the environmental services manager and health and safety committee member, took part in four Safety Group training sessions throughout 2006, which involved education in five different safety elements. Common to all who took part in the education was ‘Lock out Tag out’ training which essentially is a procedure to properly mark equipment that has malfunctioned to prevent it from being used.

OMNI zeroed in on four other elements that were most relevant to the long-term care environment: a policy statement for health and safety, the early and safe return to work program, infectious disease as it pertains to personal protective equipment and the joint health and safety committee.

“We did one-on-one in-services on the return-to-work program,” says Connie. “Staff are now taking the accountability piece to themselves.”

As well, when there’s an injury or a near-miss, the incident is discussed at the management level as well as through the health and safety committee. Staff meet individually with a worker to discuss safer practices. “Whenever we have a staff injury or near miss they fill out paperwork but now it goes a step further. We’re looking into utilizing the health and safety committee a lot more.” Managers also examine any equipment that may be responsible for an injury or near miss.

“Sometimes it takes a little more time to work safe but (staff) see the benefits now.”

In addition to the Safety Group program, OMNI also remarketed its health and safety manual and made the creation of safety resource centres in the homes a best practice.

“It was a lot of extra work but it’s paying off,” the administrator says.

In 2005, five Pleasant Meadow workers were on lost time as a result of workplace mishaps. In 2006, there was only one.