Precautions are key to preventing work-related injuries

Is your job a pain in the neck? How about your shoulders or knees? Some of the ways employees bend, lift and move at work can lead to injuries. According to Risk Management, those work-related injuries result in millions of dollars paid annually by CoxHealth for worker’s compensation claims.

An initiative is underway to make the work environment at Cox safer by reducing work-related injuries. Jolene Palmquist is the director of the work injury program in Rehabilitation Services. She is evaluating all job descriptions in the system to determine if they accurately reflect the physical demands required of the position.

First, Palmquist conducts a job analysis. She recently observed employees in Sterile Processing as they worked in the various areas. She was looking for those tasks that increase the potential for injury.

“We have a limit on what we should be lifting,” says Russ Gilbert, SPD educator, “but you can injure yourself bending over to pick up even a lightweight object if you aren’t doing it the right way. Injuries affect the employee and the entire department when someone can’t return to their job,” says Gilbert.

Palmquist then makes recommendations to the department to improve the ergonomics, suggesting adjustments to shelving and work surfaces so employees don’t have to reach too high or bend too low. Employees are also educated about the proper techniques of lifting, pushing, pulling and carrying.

Palmquist returned to Sterile Processing to instruct employees on stretching movements they can perform before and during each shift (above). The stretching and conditioning can prevent injuries by toning muscles and improving flexibility, with an added benefit of relieving stress.

“The program is customized for each department,” says Palmquist. “Staff can do the stretching and conditioning at home and at work to keep the blood flowing to the muscles that support the joints in our bodies. Exercises that keep that tissue healthy can counteract the effects of awkward positions, heavy lifting and repetitive movements at work.”