Wyoming nursing facility scores a zero – in a good way
Hospice partnered with state’s OSHA Consultation program to improve workplace health and safety
(Shown above: Left to Right: Jesse Struckhoff (Facilities Administrator), Karen Godman (WY OSHA Consultation Manager), Jason Wolfe (WY DWS Compliance & Standards Director), Candis Pickard (CRMC, Facility Safety Officer/Emergency Management Coordinator), Daniel Bulkley (WY OSHA Deputy Director), Ashley Davis (Davis Hospice Manager) and Matthew Young (WY OSHA Consultant).)
A skilled nursing facility in Cheyenne, Wyoming has achieved injuries, illnesses and lost days that are dramatically below the average for their industry, since it began working with Wyoming OSHA Consultation.
From 2016 through 2017, the Davis Hospice Center’s Total Recordable Case Rate (TRC) rate was zero, and their Days Away from Work, Job Transfer and Restriction (DART) rate was also zero. These rates are astounding when discussing the healthcare industry and health and safety challenges they face. In comparison, for this period, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the national average TRC rate in this industry was 6.5. The national average DART rate was 4.1. [NOTE: 2017 is the most recent year BLS national averages are available.]
| "No longer do staff look at OSHA as 'the people who fine you if you are doing something wrong, but now they ask ‘can we call OSHA and ask?'" |
In 2018, the Center formed a working relationship with Wyoming OSHA Consultation and became a valued participant in the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP). They are constantly improving their company’s health and safety processes and procedures, ensuring their employees are provided one of the safest places to work in the state. The Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program’s (SHARP) recognize businesses that work with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), On-Site Consultation Program, services and operate an exemplary injury and illness prevention program. Acceptance into SHARP is an achievement that distinguishes Davis Hospice Center among its business peers as a model for workplace safety and health.How did they do it?
About the Center
The Davis Hospice Center provides quality and compassionate care for people facing life-limiting illnesses or injuries. This facility provides care to patients with diagnoses of six months or less to live. Hospice care focuses on caring, not curing. Staff provide expert medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support expressly tailored to the patient’s needs and wishes. This support is provided to the patient’s loved ones as well. Davis Hospice was constructed in November 2006 and has since provided assistance to approximately 4,000 patients in their end-of-life journey.
The Davis Hospice Center has appreciated the advantages of having fewer injuries and illnesses and achieving SHARP.
According to Candis Pickard, Facility Safety Officer/Emergency Management Coordinator, “Participating in SHARP has helped Cheyenne Regional Medical Center (CRMC) to work with OSHA and identify appropriate and functional engineering controls, such as self-sheathing needles for various applications that are challenging. In addition to processes, the most important benefit from our partnership with the OSHA Consultation Program was the culture change within our organization. Inviting our OSHA partners into our organization, introducing them to staff helped all of us have a better understanding of OSHA’s role in our everyday safety. No longer do staff look at OSHA as “the people who fine you if you are doing something wrong, but now they ask ‘can we call OSHA and ask?'” ”OSHA is here to make us all better. They are wonderful partners for our organization.”
OSHA's On-Site Consultation Program offers free and confidential safety and occupational health advice to small and medium-sized businesses in all states across the country, with priority given to high-hazard worksites. On-Site Consultation services are separate from enforcement and do not result in penalties or citations to the company. Consultants from state agencies or universities work with employers to identify workplace hazards, provide advice on compliance with OSHA standards, and assist in establishing injury and illness prevention programs. In Wyoming, these services are provided through the state’s Department of Workforce Services, Consultation/Compliance Assistance Services.
To locate the OSHA On-Site Consultation Program nearest you, call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) or visit www.osha.gov/consultation.
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