Health Care Safety

It is not enough that management commits itself; they must know what it is that they are committed to.
- J. Edward Deming

Chaff & Co. can help you build on the partnership between the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) by helping your health care facility be continuously ready for either a Joint Commission survey or an OSHA inspection.

The Joint Commission’s new approach to their survey process and OSHA’s mandate derived from the Occupational Safety and Health Act to ensure the safety and health of America’s workers through workplace safety and health inspections require health care facilities to be prepared at any given point in time for an unannounced Joint Commission survey or OSHA inspection.

Chaff & Co. believes that the Joint Commission and OSHA are very important to the health care mission all around the world. And we can help you build on the alliance formed between these two organizations.

JCAHO has decreased the emphasis on paper document review and department manager interviews and moved to more hands on interaction with staff. Unannounced Joint Commission surveys occur in the calendar year the organization is due for its triennial survey. OSHA inspections occur for many reasons including employee or public complaints and planned inspections.

A health care facility is a unique environment and operates much like running a small city.

• A health care facility must be in full operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no “down time,” holidays or lapses in service.
• No other business brings together the diversity of technical expertise, sophisticated specialties, and technological functions.
• Every hour brings diverse emotions—grief and joy, paid and comfort, pain and relief.
• Medical care demands human performance with no margin for error.
• Emergencies, from “codes” to community disasters and threats, must be reacted to with calm, control and preparedness.
• Performance failure can result in panic or exaggerated risk.
• Technology and medical breakthrough demand constant changes in the complexity, variety and volume of services.
• Society and government overseers demand lower costs and, at the same time, higher efficiency.
• The facility grounds require numerous points of open access with, at best, few restricted areas of access.

And today’s health care safety professionals have ever-escalating responsibilities.

Health care facilities focus almost exclusively on patient safety, not employee health and safety. One of the costs of providing patient care is an above-average rate of recordable injuries and illnesses compared to all private industry sectors. The critical role that employee health and safety plays in patient health and safety may be overlooked, not because of a callous disregard for employees but because of an assumption that guidelines and standards established by accreditation organizations intended to improve patient health and safety address employee health and safety as well.

That recordable injuries and illnesses in health care facilities still exceed the average for all of private industry, and have declined over the last decade at a slower rate than in other industry sectors, demonstrates that emphasizing compliance with accreditation guidelines and standards does not adequately protect employees. This pattern can be changed if health care facilities elevate the status of their employee safety and health program within the corporate structure. The first step in the process is to understand the scope of the problem and to adopt a functional concept of employee health and safety that encompasses all aspects of the facility’s operations.

Unless health care facilities begin to understand that a safe and healthy workforce is essential to quality patient care, the existing pattern of injuries, illnesses, and accidents will continue. To improve their workers’ compensation record and reach the next level of performance in patient care, health care facilities need to recognize that employee safety and health has a significant impact on each department’s overall performance as well as the cost of providing patient care.

Consulting Services

Quality patient care requires quality employee care and the emphasis on each should be equal.

Chaff & Co.’s health and safety professionals can partner with your organization to develop required health and safety programs. Our team can help customize a program for you that is practical and cost-effective for your organization and that meets the requirements of OSHA and other regulatory agencies and the Joint Commission Environment of Care Standards.

Our team includes results-oriented producers who have extensive practical experience in the health care industry:

• Regulatory experts that include safety and health professionals, industrial hygienists, and public health officials
• Certified Workers’ Compensation Professionals
• Researchers and Scientists
• Security Professionals, including Certified Fraud Examiners
• Expert Dynamic Trainers, including OSHA Authorized Trainers
• Public Relations and Marketing Professionals
• Technical and Creative Writers
• Creative Capabilities that Include Graphic Designers and Illustrators
• Some of our team members are multilingual.

We have conducted numerous OSHA reviews and Joint Commission EC preparation surveys. We are extremely knowledgeable in both Joint Commission EC standards and OSHA 1910 and 1904 Standards and how they relate to health care facilities and quality patient care.

We have developed and implemented programs in health care facilities and general industry that have significantly reduced workplace injuries and illnesses and reduced excessive costs associated with workers’ compensation insurance rates, lost time associated with workplace injuries and illnesses, and fines imposed by regulatory agencies.

While developing programs over the years, Chaff & Co. quickly recognized that boring training assures swiftly forgotten lessons, so becoming alumni of the Disney Institute’s program, The Disney Approach to Managing for Creativity and Innovation, only seemed a natural step in their continuing business. Chaff & Co. programs strive to offer the best training possible by providing expert facilitation and experiential learning. Just as timing is everything in theatre, so it is with workplace health and safety. Energetic, cheerful and practical, the Chaff & Co. team combines creative vision with people and business skills to help clients turn their needs and dreams into reality.

Linda Chaff is the principal of the company and is an award-winning author who has written numerous books, manuals, and publications. She has completed a new book, published by American Hospital Association (AHA) and prepared in cooperation with the Joint Commission on Accrediation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), Total Health and Safety for Health Care Facilities Catalyzing Improvements in Employee Safety, Patient Care, and the Bottom Line, which will be released summer 2006. Linda Chaff works fervently with her staff and clients to help them succeed. She pays close attention to details and has extensive project management skills.

Linda Chaff created Total Health and Safety ™ and anchored it in a symbol called, Valuing You™. Total Health and Safety ™adds a new dimension in safety and health motivation by serving as the cornerstone of the facility’s employee and patient safety and health programs. Total Health and Safety™ is a broad-based initiative that uses the very best elements of functional and motivational programs from around the world to bridge the gap between employee and patient safety and health as well as that of their families.

Examples of Chaff & Co. Health and Safety Projects Include:

• Coaching and Mentoring for the Health and Safety Director
• Safety and Health Program Development. Such as:
  • Hospital Decon Plans
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Hazard Communication
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Medical Surveillance
  • Data Collection, Surveillance,and Workers’ Compensation
  • Ergonomics
  • Workplace Violence
  • Fire and Life Safety
  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Assessments
• Worksite Analyses and Needs Assessments
• Policy Templates, Forms, and Checklists
• Technical and Creative Writing: Annual Reports, Newsletters, Policies
• Health and Safety Committee Facilitation, Environment of Care Committee Facilitation
• Program Evaluation and Benchmarking
• Training Modules and Training
• Safety and Health Promotional and Motivational Programs
• Health and Safety Job Descriptions
• Safety and Health Marketing Strategies and Public Relations Campaigns. Branding
• Third Party Audits, including OSHA Inspection and Environment of Care Survey Preparation