Slip, Trip, and Fall Prevention for Healthcare Workers

Work-related slip, trip, and fall incidents can frequently result in serious disabling injuries that impact a healthcare employee's ability to do his or her job, often resulting in lost workdays, reduced productivity, expensive worker compensation claims, and diminished ability to care for patients. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2009], the incidence rate of lost-workday injuries from slips, trips, and falls (STFs) on the same level in hospitals was 38.2 per 10,000 employees, which was 90% greater than the average rate for all other private industries combined (20.1 per 10,000 employees). STFs as a whole are the second most common cause of lost-workday injuries in hospitals. An analysis of workers' compensation injury claims from acute-care hospitals showed that the lower extremities (knees, ankles, feet) were the body parts most commonly injured after STFs and the nature of injury was most often sprains, strains, dislocations and tears. In addition, STFs were significantly more likely to result in fractures and multiple injuries than were other types of injuries. This workbook identifies the top 10 STF hazards specific to healthcare facilities. For each hazard this workbook will: 1. Explain how the hazard contributes to STFs, 2. Identify where the hazard is likely to occur, and 3. Provide recommendations to reduce or eliminate the hazard. Slips, trips, and falls are preventable. This workbook provides guidance on implementing a STF prevention program to protect healthcare workers. The goal of the workbook is to familiarize you with common STF hazards in healthcare facilities so you are able to recognize and reduce the risk to employees. Both visitors and patients will benefit from an STF prevention program in your facility reducing their risk as well.