R&R Insurance Blog

Great article on improving patient safety for care giving facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes. Read full article in Amednews.com, by Kevin B. O'Reilly.

These are things hospitals and nursing homes should be doing to protect patients.

1. Improve Hand Hygiene
   Rates of hand washing are low, averaging 39%, with many doctors and nurses underestimating the activity's safety value. Research shows that effective hand hygiene initiatives improve knowledge of when to clean and how to clean, require demonstration of the knowledge, ensure that alcohol-based rub and gloves are available at the bedside, and guarantee that compliance is monitored continuously
2. Use barrier precautions to stop the spread of infections
   Along with hand hygiene, barrier precautions are key to reducing the 1.7 million health care-associated infections that occur in the U.S. each year, which the CDC says kill about 99,000 patients annually.
3. Implement care bundles to prevent central-line associated bloodstream infections
   About 250,000 bloodstream infections occur each year in the U.S., and these infections can triple hospital stays from seven to 21 days. Bloodstream infection rates in ICUs fell by nearly 60% between 2001 and 2009 thanks to wider use of a prevention protocol bundle.
4. Use real-time ultrasonography when placing central lines
   Using portable ultrasound machines to get a real-time, two-dimensional view while placing the catheter has been shown in randomized trials to lower infection rates and improve other outcomes. For every 1,000 patients, ultrasonography-guided central-line placement helps avoid 90 complications, research shows.
5. Use protocols to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections
   The most important step in preventing catheter-associated UTIs is to reduce use of indwelling urinary catheters. At least 21% of catheters are placed in patients inappropriately — for example, as a substitute for extra nursing care — and they often are left in long after they are needed.
6. Employ preoperative checklists to reduce surgical complications
   The most well-known surgical safety checklist is one devised in 2008 by WHO, which cut mortality rates from 1.5% to 0.8% at sites in industrialized nations and developing countries. The checklist also helped reduce the surgical complications rate from 11% to 7% over six months involving nearly 4,000 procedures.
7. Improve venous thromboembolism prophylaxis
   Between 350,000 and 600,000 Americans develop deep vein thrombosis each year. One key to improving use of these prophylactic interventions is health information technology that helps identify patients at higher risk for VTE. Medical and mechanical interventions can prevent VTE, Dr. Haut says. Low-dose unfractionated heparin and low-molecular weight heparins such as enoxaparin and warfarin are effective. So are compression stockings and pneumatic compressing devices.
8. Use preventive intervention care bundles to cut rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia
   Pneumonia linked to endotracheal intubation accounts for 25% of ICU infections and is responsible for half of intensive care antibiotic use. Research shows that preventive intervention care bundles can cut rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia by as much as 40% among adults and children.
9. Avoid hazardous drug abbreviations
   About 15,000 medication errors a year have been linked to using abbreviations such as “u” for “unit” and “q.d.” instead of “once daily.” Implementation of computerized physician order entry systems also can help eliminate the vestiges of this problem.
10. Use multi-component interventions to prevent pressure ulcers
    About 2.5 million Americans develop bedsores each year, and about 60,000 patients will die from complications related to pressure ulcers acquired in U.S. hospitals. One bundle of preventive care measures has reduced pressure ulcers by 90% at a large health system, from a rate of 5.7% of patients to less than 0.5%. The bundle, dubbed SKIN, calls for continual assessment of the skin of at-risk patients, regular turning of these patients, management of incontinence to prevent soiling that can contribute to bedsores, and nutritional assessment for malnourishment that can enable the ulcers.

Health care organizations in Wisconsin wanting to know more about how to reduce their risk and liability exposures, contact knowledgebroker Jeff Thiel.

Maurice Evans, Jr., director of HR for Integral Group, LLC had perfect vision when he educated his workforce about the fact that diabetes can complicate vision.

If employees can't see, then they certainly can't see to do their job! Great point! Takeaway - better vision = increased productivity! Evans saw a 30% increase of vision plan participation by his employees with a little bit of education about the correlation and the benefits of good vision. read full article in Employee Benefit News.

An affordable vision plan, as well as many other voluntary benefits, can add some meat to your wellness program, increase the productivity of your employees and keep you on the front edge of competitive offerings as an employer of choice. For more information about ancillary or voluntary benefits for your employees, contact knowledgebroker Riley Enright.

At R&R, we are seeing more and more small businesses in Wisconsin having serious discussions about the link between obesity and workplace productivity. On top of that – when you factor in wellness programs that will increase the health and longevity of employees and their families – small businesses can have a lot control over their health insurance costs and the productivity of their employees – control that they don’t know they have. At R&R Insurance, we call this program WellCompForLife! Join the WellCompForLife discussion on LinkedIn!

Has your company considered the link between obesity and occupation injury?

Journal of Obesity published a recent study by Ian Janssen, et al., which examines this relationship. A sample of 7,678 adult Canadian workers, were placed into normal weight, overweight, and obese categories based on their BMI body mass index. Findings show obese workers were more likely to report occupational injuries, with a great frequency of strains and sprains, along with falls and overexertion injuries. Interestingly, workers 40+ years, female workers and workers in sedentary occupations were particularly vulnerable. While there was not significant increased risk found with the overweight individuals, the impact of loss productivity, absenteeism and overall health costs should be further studied.

At R&R, we are seeing more and more small businesses in Wisconsin having serious discussions about the link between obesity and workplace injury. On top of that – when you factor in wellness programs that will increase the health and longevity of employees and their families – small businesses can have a lot control over their health insurance costs and the productivity of their employees - control that they don't know they have. At R&R Insurance, we call this program WellCompForLife! Join the WellCompForLife discussion on LinkedIn!

For more information about WellCompForLife, about self-funding your health insurance plan, health care reform or basic employee benefits questions, contact knowledgebroker Riley Enright

Cintas Corporation, a restaurant facility solutions, has named its top 13 hidden risks to restaurant operations, as well as tips on how to avoid them. Full article as appearing on QRSWeb.com

1. Slips and falls
2. Broken doors and locks
3. Dirty restrooms
4. Cooking fires
5. Identity theft
6. Cuts and burns
7. Unfocused employees
8. Ugly floors
9. Untrained workers
10. Norovirus
11. Missing fire extinguishers
12. Improperly mized chemicals
13. Natural disasters

For more information about risks to restaurants and food processing manufacturersplease contact a knowledgebroker.

Safely caring for others is a full-time commitment. R&R Insurance Services always recognizes the expertise and commitment of our health care customers and their employees, especially during Patient Safety Awareness Week – March 3-9, 2013.

Here are some ways to promote patient safety in your organization:

• Patient Safety Get Involved: available from Department of Veterans Affairs
• Medication Errors - Tips to Help Prevent Them: available from American Academy of Family Physicians
• Hand Hygiene Project: available Joint Commission Center for Transforming Health Care
• Fall Prevention: available National Council on Aging
• Video: Keeping Patients Safe From Falls

Information on Health Care Workers and Patient Safety

For any help with understanding Patient Transfer Safety, or the implementation of proven wellness and work comp techniques, please contact me, Maureen Joy, OTR, knowledgebroker, Occupational Therapist and Health Care Specialist at R&R Insurance Services.

Healthcare workers are frequently exposed to bloodborne pathogens. OSHA - Occupational Safety & Health Administration together with NIOSH - National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is continously working to educate employers and employees about these hazards and the best means of prevention.

A recent NIOSH-supported study shows how the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act (NSPA) and OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens standard have significantly reduced needlesticks and bloodborne disease exposure for healthcare workers as recent as December 2011. OSHA's revised standard requires employers to provide safety-engineered devices to workers who are at risk for exposure to bloodborne pathogens, to include employees in the selection of these devices, to review exposure-control plans at least annually, and to maintain specific sharps-injury logs.

For more information about bloodborne pathogens and needlestick prevention, visit OSHA's Safety and Health Topics page . To request a review of your organization's bloodborne pathogen plan or other safety programs contact Maureen Joy with R&R Insurance's Resource Center.

Home healthcare workers can find themselves in unprotected and unpredictable environments and can be vulnerable to verbal abuse, stalking, threats of assault, and even homicide.

NIOSH -National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has published a new resource (PDF*) to assist employers in preventing violence against home healthcare workers. This factsheet offers strategies for workers and encourages employers to establish a zero-tolerance policy for violence and provide workers with violence-prevention training. OSHA - Occupational Safety & Health Administration has guidelines for preventing workplace violence for health care and social service workers. For more information, visit OSHA's Workplace Violence or CDC/NIOSH’s Occupational Hazards in Home Healthcare sites.

Contact R&R Insurance - Resource Center if you would like to discuss this or other employee work place exposures

There are three common mistakes we find companies making when it comes to their accident investigation: Lack of training on why the accident investigation form is important; Poor accident investigation forms; and Lack of follow-through on valuable information gleaned from the accident investigation. This quick video explains these three common mistakes of accident investigation.

Poor Accident Investigation Forms.
Using accident investigation forms that concentrate too much on general HR information about the injured employee can waste valuable time during an investigation. Streamline your accident investigation forms to allow the supervisor to focus on how and why the employee was injured.

Lack of training on why the accident investigation form is important.
Understanding why an accident investigation form needs to be completed, how to conduct an accident investigation and understanding an organization's ultimate goal after an accident are essential elements that if not adhered to - can lead to poor results.

Lack of Follow-Through.
Often times great ideas spring from an undesirable circumstance. Accident investigation forms are there to capture the how and why of an accident and also corrective action steps the company can take to ensure it doesn't happen again. This is valuable information that should be shared with safety committees and multi-location staff to improve the overall safety of the organization. Don't overlook the follow-through on your great ideas!

For more information about accident investigation, one of our upcoming accident investigation seminars held in Waukesha, WI, or any other risk management concerns, please contact our knowledgebroker, John Brengosz.

You undoubtedly encounter a wide range of people on the job, some of whom are easy to get along with and others you want to avoid at all costs. It’s only human nature to avoid contact with people whose personality traits set your teeth on edge, but there is one type of person who cannot safety be ignored: a co-worker who verbally or physically threatens others. In the aftermath of a violent incident, it’s not uncommon for people to say that the person who harmed others was a time bomb waiting to explode. The question here that begs an answer is: why would people do nothing and wait for that to happen?

While no employee in any setting is immune to workplace violence, knowing what and what not to say and do can have a tremendous impact on a worker’s personal safety at work. Here are some do’s and don’ts:

Do:

• Take verbal threats seriously. All threats should be reported to security or the appropriate manager.
• Report any suspicious person or vehicle to security personnel, especially at night. The suspect could be casing your workplace for a break-in. Or the person could be stalking someone at your workplace.
• Watch for unauthorized visitors who seem to have legitimate business at your plant. Crimes have been committed by people posing as employees, contractors and repair persons.
• Always wear your identification badge at all times.
• Observe your company’s rules prohibiting drugs and alcohol at work. Many violent incidents at work can be traced to the use of these substances.
• Learn how to contact help in an emergency. Speed-dialing numbers should be programmed into phones and emergency numbers should be listed at each phone.
• Adopt some distress signals, including predetermined code words that can be used to alert other workers to dangerous customers or visitors without tipping off the suspect.
• Act on your instincts. If you sense something is wrong, report it.

Don't:

• Pick fights. Loud and aggressive arguments can easily escalate into physical fights.
• Pick up hitch-hikers under any circumstances if your job involves driving. The most important reason for this rule is your personal safety.
• Ignore threats or disturbing changes in a co-worker’s behavior, such as an obsession with weapons or violence or someone talking about a "hit list" of co-workers he or she would like to see dead.
• One’s personal security, whether on or off the job, can never be guaranteed. However, the risks can be greatly reduced by having a plan and reacting to warning signs.

For more information contact the knowledgebroker John Brengosz.