It may be a shock to many, but did you know that compared to private industries, a hospital is one of the most hazardous places to work? According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), in 2019, hospitals in the U.S. reported nearly 220,000 work-related injuries and illnesses, which equates to approximately 5.5 work-related … Read More
Author: Cindy Sawyer
Highly Reliable Organizations
What comes to mind when you think of Highly Reliable Organizations (HROs)? NASA? Airlines? Nuclear Plants? The fact is, an HRO is more than just a buzzword. HROs are industries that function safely despite being in a high-risk field or having highly complex processes. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) describes HROs as … Read More
Effective Handoff Communication Risk Focus Area
Because healthcare is a 24/7, 365 day per year business, patients will inevitably be cared for by many providers during hospitalization and throughout their lives. This inherently creates opportunities for error when clinical information is not accurately transferred between providers. Recognizing this problem, The Joint Commission requires all healthcare providers to “implement a standardized approach … Read More
Summer All Employee Meeting 2023
With many of our employees working remotely, we still believe in the positive impact of being together in-person for a couple of meetings each year. We share, we build team, we connect, we serve and, yes, we have FUN! Read what a few of our team members had to say about the day. I thought … Read More
Medication Safety Risk Focus Area
Six of the Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns listed in ECRI’s 2023 Report are directly related to safe medication practices, while the others have implications for medication safety. This report highlights the crucial importance of these processes, emphasizing why we have chosen it as one of our Risk Focus Areas for the 2023 Risk Prevention Education Series. … Read More
The Risk of Doing Nothing
The annual meetings with our customers and members of the companies managed by Inspirien (Inspirien Insurance Company and the Healthcare Workers’ Compensation Fund – HWCF) are always a special time. This year we brought both boards together to hear a presentation from Jessica DaMassa, A Health Innovation Reporter and Executive Producer of WTF Health (What … Read More
2023 HWCF Grant Recipients
Inspirien, as manager of the Healthcare Workers’ Compensation Fund, is thrilled to share the 2023 HWCF Grant Program Recipients for projects aimed at improving employee safety and reducing workers’ compensation exposures at their facilities. This year, our recipients will collectively receive over $94K in Grant dollars, bringing our total awarded to over $438K since the … Read More
National Hospital and Nurses Week
Inspirien would like to take a moment to recognize our fellow healthcare workers and nurses during this month of May as we celebrate Hospital Week May 7-13 and National Nurses Month. Nurses’ week has transitioned to a month-long celebration with the American Nurses Association designating the overarching theme for the month as You Make A Difference and … Read More
Infection Prevention Risk Focus Area
“Wash your hands before eating dinner!” is something many of us grew up hearing from our parents. We may have grumbled, but we learned from an early age the importance of washing our hands. Then early in our healthcare profession, nurses learned that washing hands correctly is the single most effective way to prevent the … Read More
Violence in Healthcare: Zero Tolerance
It is no secret that violence against healthcare workers has been a problem for quite some time; however, this troubling issue has grown exponentially since the start of the pandemic. Recent studies indicate that 44% of nurses reported experiencing physical violence and 68% reported experiencing verbal abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, a 2021 survey … Read More