Hey PSNM Tribe! You may be receiving the e-news from SafeCare BC and caught this reference, but we wanted to share here. “Five Steps to Safe Handling” – the toolkit from SafeCare BC!
Step 1: Assess Your Organization
Creating a Safe Handling program begins with a conversation to better understand your organization’s overall safety culture. The culture of an organization plays a key part in any initiative. If you are looking to improve workplace health and safety at your organization, it’s important to understand the state of your current workplace culture.
Step 2: Obtain Support from your Leadership Team
Once you have determined your organization’s safety culture and risk of injury (Step 1), you will want to gain the support of your leadership team. Visible leadership support is a very important step when implementing your program. It demonstrates that the organization values safe work practices. Demonstrating leadership support can be done by providing resources and communicating the importance of safe handling.
Step 3: Create and Implement a Policy and Program
Now that you’ve assessed the safety culture of your organization (Step 1), performed a risk assessment, and obtained the support of your leadership team (Step 2), you’re ready to develop and implement a Safe Handling Policy.
Step 4: Conduct Training
Training is Step 4, and it involves ensuring that all staff understand the safe work practices recommended for handling residents and clients. This may include a review of the policy, safe body mechanics, and a demonstration of using the equipment. All training must be reinforced, so appropriate follow up to address any challenges is highly recommended.
Step 5: Evaluate Your Program
Now that you have created your Safe Handling program, it’s important to evaluate the program.You can use the Safe Handling Program Checklistto verify the components of a safe handling program.