Safety Program
Employees are encouraged to report any unsafe work practices or safety hazards encountered on the job. All accidents/incidents are to be immediately reported to the supervisor on duty.
24 hour Phone Number: 714-904-5627
the main point in implementing this policy will be the strict compliance to all applicable federal, state, local, and company procedures and policies. The purpose here quickly overviews the processes for identification and mitigation of the inherent safety risks associated with healthcare operations. It is absolutely crucial that all employees follow the safety programs at each hospital in which they care for patients.
Acuity Care Services, LLC will comply with all applicable federal, state and local regulations concerning health, safety and environmental protection.
All safety and OSHA programs are followed by all healthcare providers as designated at the local facilities in where they work. Cooperation is mandatory in every aspect of the safety and health programs at all facilities. It is the responsibility of the employee to inform the facility and Acuity Care Services, LLC of any hazard or unsafe condition beyond their ability or authority to correct.
All hazardous and waste reports will be reported to the individual facility as well as to Acuity care Services, LLC.
All employees must familiarize themselves with the facility fire and safety programs, including but not limited to using fire alarms and extinguishers or any other preventative measures that the hospital provides.
General safety topics:
Staff safety and body mechanics
If you need help moving material, immediately request assistance.
When you lift, use your leg muscles by squatting close to the load, preserving the curve in your back, spreading your feet, and lifting with your legs, keeping the load close to your body.
When you turn holding an object, move your feet, and do not twist.
Security
Provide safety awareness among workers through regular communications. Employees of Acuity Care Services, LLC are required to follow all client safety and security procedures during client visits.
Workplace violence
Any employee who feels that she/he has been threatened should immediately report their concern to their manager and to Human Resources. If any person is observed participating in threatening behavior or making threatening statements, the person whom discovered the situation should warn others in the area and immediately notify Human Resources.
Hazardous Materials and Waste Management
All Acuity Care Services, LLC employees have a right to know what chemicals they work with, what the hazards are and how to handle them safely. Safety Data Sheets (SDS) are documents provided by the supplier of a chemical to each facility. SDSs detail the chemical contents, associated hazards and general safe handling guidelines
Fire Safety Medical Equipment
The following areas must remain clear and unobstructed at all times:
Exit doors,
Aisles,
Electrical panels, and
Fire extinguishers.
Infection Control
Infection control aims to protect vulnerable members of the community, such as hospital patients, from being infected. The primary measure is good hygiene, explains World Health Organization. Infection control is a key component of any health care system, and measures range from simple hand washing to the sophisticated disinfection of medical instruments.
Medication administration and errors
One commonly used definition for a medication error is: Any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer. It requires that you follow the facility’s policies and procedures carefully and always perform three checks on the first five of the six rights of medication administration: the right drug, the right dose, the right route, the right time, and the right patient. Be sure to document the procedure.
Invasive procedure site identification
This was created to prevent wrong person, wrong procedure, wrong site surgery in hospitals and outpatient settings. The Universal Protocol consists of three steps:
A pre-operative/ pre-procedure verification process
Marking the operative/procedure site
A Time Out (final verification) which is performed immediately before starting the operation/procedure
Sentinel events
A Sentinel Event is defined by The Joint Commission (TJC) as any unanticipated event in a healthcare setting resulting in death or serious physical or psychological injury to a patient or patients, not related to the natural course of the patient’s illness.
Clinical alarms
Electronic medical devices are an integral part of patient care. As new devices are introduced, the number of alarms to which a healthcare professional may be exposed may be as high as 1000 alarms per shift. The US Food and Drug Administration has reported over 500 alarm-related patient deaths in five years. The Joint Commission, recognizing the clinical significance of alarm fatigue, has made clinical alarm management a National Patient Safety Goal. Potential solutions to alarm fatigue include technical, organizational, and educational interventions. Selecting only the right monitors (i.e., avoiding overmonitoring), judicious selection of alarm limits, and multimodal alarms can all reduce the number of nuisance alarms to which a healthcare worker is exposed.
Personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) refers to protective clothing, helmets, gloves, face shields, goggles, facemasks and/or respirators or other infection control practices such as hand-washing, using alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and covering coughs and sneezes, PPE minimizes the spread of infection from one person to another.
Body mechanics
Nursing is a job that needs a lot of bending backs, flexing our arms and legs and pushing and pulling patients. Because of this, many healthcare providers are at risk for developing physical strain and back injuries or even fractures. One way to prevent these from happening is to practice proper body mechanics
Emergency management
Healthcare facilities and their staff play a key role in emergency preparedness and response efforts for all types of events, including natural or man-made disasters, pandemic outbreaks, or terrorist attacks. Planning better prepares staff to manage smaller hazardous materials situations, such as industrial accidents – in which both staff and facility may be contaminated unless such incidents are anticipated beforehand
Sexual harassment
Examples of conduct prohibited by this policy include but are not limited to:
Unwelcome sexual flirtation, advances, or propositions;
Verbal comments related to an individual’s age, race, gender, color, religion, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation;
Explicit or degrading verbal comments about another individual or his/her appearance;
The display of sexually suggestive pictures or objects in any workplace location including transmission or display via computer;
Any sexually offensive or abusive physical conduct;
The taking of or the refusal to take any personnel action based on an employee’s submission to or referral of sexual overtures; and
Displaying cartoons or telling jokes that relate to an individual’s age, race, gender, color, religion, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation.
Death/serious disability
Fatalities must be reported to OSHA within eight hours. Any in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye must be reported to OSHA within 24 hours. This report can be submitted to a local OSHA office (in phone or in person) or the central OSHA office (1-800-321-OSHA (6742) or TTY 1-877-889-5627). In addition, all such events must be reported immediately to Acuity Care Services,LLC.
OSHA Bloodborne pathogens
Blood and other bodily fluids can carry pathogens, which are capable of causing diseases in others. This includes HIV, which leads to AIDS and hepatitis:
Because we cannot tell by looking at a person if they are infected with a pathogenic disease, we must take precautions following an illness or injury when bodily fluids are released.
In the event of a person losing bodily fluids, stay away from the area and warn others to also do so. You can still stay close to the ill/injured person to support him/her, just be sure to stay out of contact any bodily fluids.
In the event that you find spilled bodily fluids, a syringe, or other medically contaminated materials, do not attempt clean up by yourself. Call Human Resources immediately for instructions.
Death/serious disability associated with restraints/bedrails
Physical restraint is used primarily for patients at risk of falling, those with motor unrest and agitated behavior, and those who manifest an intention of doing harm to themselves or are at risk of suicide. The use of freedom-restraining measures , and, in particular, the use of physical restraints against the patient’s will, can be a serious intrusion of basic human rights and, as such, an act of violence against the patient. The improper use of physical restraints can cause injuries of varying severity, which can sometimes be fatal.
Criminal events
Care ordered or provided by someone impersonating licensed health care provider
Abduction of patient, any age
Sexual assault of patient
Death or significant injury of patient or staff resulting from physical assault
Any adverse event that causes death or serious disability of a patient, personnel or visitor.
Clinical safety is covered in the following manuals:
Departmental manuals- review upon request in office.
Event Review
Any events will be investigated and reviewed in staff meetings.
For any injury, report immediately report to the 24-hour phone number at Acuity Care Services, LLC.
All staff are responsible to report patient safety occurrences or near misses to the facility and Acuity Care Services, LLC.
Reports will be made to Acuity Care Services, LLC and the appropriate hospital supervisor by employee for all events outside normal healthcare practice.