Interactive learning is one of the best teachers – so staff at Bradenton Health Center decided that setting up a mock resident room with safety violations would be the most effective way to educate employees, while making it an enjoyable training experience. When you have employees who inherently care about the safety and well being of the residents they serve, learning how to recognize the various safety hazards that could affect their residents is a priority.
In an effort to make safety preparedness both educational and enjoyable, Bradenton Health Center held a two-day safety event that all shifts and departments attended. Maintenance Director Gary Evancho and HR Coordinator Krisan Altamirano put on a “What’s Wrong” contest in which staff were challenged to enter a mock resident room where over 50 safety violations had been simulated. Gary and Krisan were very thorough with the setup and included violations that ranged from items hanging from the sprinkler heads to cigarettes being in the room.
The employees carefully scanned the room, picking out as many errors as they could within a given amount of time. Everyone who attended the event enjoyed participating. Each shift had a first place winner recognized for finding the most hazardous items. The contest even had a surprise visitor when Maria Seger, Regional Vice President of Operations, stopped in. Maria was very pleased and impressed with how well the staff performed!
It would be easy to hand out safety procedure pamphlets and request that the staff simply read and memorize them on their own time. However, we pride ourselves on going the extra mile in everything we do, including safety education. Through this lively exercise, our staff has become significantly more knowledgeable and aware of common safety violations in care centers and how to combat them should problems arise. We’re happy to have caregivers who are invested in keeping our care centers both fun and safe environments for our residents, patients, families and staff.
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