Safety

Promotion of safety and prevention of injury must be the first consideration in all actions, and is the responsibility of each employee, supervisor, and management.

The culture of safety, and the ongoing promotion of a safe environment are achieved only through the capable, coordinated and efficient efforts of each individual’s contribution toward these goals by promptly reporting errors/events and “near misses” to enable identification and correction of system problems. To enhance increased reporting, this process de-emphasizes the “who” but focuses on the “how” of errors/events, all the while underscoring individual accountability and responsibility.

Culture of Safety and Responsibility

Employee responsibilities

  1. Know and follow policies and procedures applicable to assigned duties.
  2. Use sound judgment and awareness of potential hazards before taking action.
  3. Promptly report errors/events or situations of actual or potential event or harm.

Supervisors and Management responsibilities

  1. Educate staff regarding error/event reporting and continuous safety improvement.
  2. Involve staff in identification of system flaws and potential corrective action required.
  3. Focus on the “how” of an error/event – how did it occur, etc. – rather than “who” may have contributed to it.
  4. Maintain compliance with all licensing/regulatory bodies and adopt a “best practices” approach to health and safety management.
  5. Ensure safe practice by all individuals by appropriate evaluative processes.
  6. Establish a culture that encourages error/event reporting.
  7. Implement corrective measures and plans and educate all staff accordingly.
  8. Promote improvements in safety by encouraging reporting, while avoiding “blaming,” but emphasizing the “how” of errors/events.
  9. Enlist assistance of employees in identifying real or potential hazards

Occupational Medicine responsibilities

  1. Encourage and support the implement of proven safety strategies throughout all areas of the University.
  2. Provide for continual education of healthcare providers, employees, supervisors and managers regarding health and safety issues, primary prevention, and “best practices.”
  3. Promptly report events/errors or situations of actual or potential harm.
  4. Support and maintain a health and safety database that allows management of near misses by primary prevention strategies.
  5. Support and maintain a health and safety database that allows management of occupational injury and illness through medical and disability case management strategies.
  6. Collaborate with Environmental Health and Safety, Human Resource representatives, safety officers, managers, supervisors and employees to monitor ongoing health and safety reports.
  7. Support benchmarking of health and safety outcomes with general industry and institutions of higher education.
  8. Regularly review peer-reviewed journals, state and federal agency publications and industry practices to stay abreast of new and evolving health and safety management ideas.
  9. Lobby for the allocation of adequate resources to support comprehensive health and safety programs.