Workplace Safety through Unit-Based Teams: A Comprehensive Guide

2. Outpatient Care Experience Workplace Safety Clinical Goals Healthy Workforce Inpatient Care Experience Attendance Unit-Based Teams are the link. • UBTs are changing the way we do business by having labor and management working together in: • Designing work processes • Setting goals • Reviewing team performance • Budgeting, staffing and scheduling decisions, and • Proactively identifying problems and resolving issues. UBTs are the conduit to achieve success in our initiatives…

3. We’ve defined a process for working with UBTs Introductory Meeting Presentation Meeting Interactive Meeting Plan Development Plan Monitoring

4. Introductory Meeting • The introductory meeting with the UBT Co-Chairs is designed to assess current workplace safety practices within departments. During this “Pre-Meeting,” the following items are discussed: • Workplace Safety (WPS) Checklist • LMP, UBT and WPS Training Completion Status • Successful completion of all training prior to integration lays the necessary foundation for developing the team’s Safety Plan. • Connection between WPS and Service & Quality

5. Presentation Meeting • The Presentation (1st) Meeting with the UBT provides education on the Workplace Safety (WPS) goal, data, and injury reporting process. Findings from the Introductory Meeting are shared at this time, and the team develops an initial Action Plan to build capacity for the comprehensive WPS approach. Materials needed are: • Workplace Injury Information System (WIIS) Data • The Path of an Injury • WPS Checklist (completed) • WPS Action Plan

6. Interactive Meeting The Interactive (2nd) Meeting with the UBT is a risk assessment exercise. During the risk assessment, team members provide their insight about safety issues in their department. After identifying the risks, the team prioritizes each based on severity and frequency, as outlined in the tools: • Risk Map • Risk Matrix

7. Plan Development The Plan Development (3rd) Meeting with the UBT continues work on the Action Plan, addressing items identified during the Risk Assessment exercise. The goals are: • Gain consensus on recommendations for injury prevention, • Agree to initial issues to address, • Select a point person for each, and • Estimate a timeline for completion

8. Plan Monitoring Subsequent UBT Meetings (next 2-4 mtgs) are used to help the team update their WPS Action Plan and troubleshoot barriers. These meetings are also opportunities to reinforce the newly adopted workplace safety practices: • Safety Observations – Review SO Data • Incident Investigations – Review injuries, if any • Activities & Involvement - Develop posters, communications, etc.

9. Ongoing Oversight Each selected team receives direct, hands-on assistance for approximately 4 – 6 months. Afterward, the team continues their workplace safety efforts independently. Ongoing oversight is provided by the WPS Steering Committee. Expectations for this stage include: • Monthly UBT updates to the consultant regarding progress on their WPS Action Plan • Routine updates to the WPS Steering Committee, as requested

10. Guidelines for Success • 1st – 3rd meetings with UBT should be at least one hour to allow adequate time for materials to be covered • Presentation meeting may need additional time, or may need to be split into two meetings • Create a meeting schedule and stick with it! • Encourage team member participation in all discussions • Enter WPS efforts into the UBT Tracker

11. Guidelines for Success (Cont’d) • Know your key local resources: • WPS Consultant & Coordinator • WPS Steering Committee • LMP Consultant • UBT Consultant • Ergonomic Professional • Don’t be afraid to ask for help