The risks of the industry

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that fourteen industries accounted for more than 1.9 million (46%) of the country’s 4.2 million reported injuries. Hospitals have topped this group of industries in each of the last three years, followed by nursing and residential care facilities. 

Musculoskeletal injuries, and especially back injuries, are the most frequent type of injuries experienced by healthcare workers. Given current obesity trends in the nation and the need to aid bariatric patients, the risk of back injury is only getting worse. When you consider that, on average, just one back or neck injury can cost $84,000 to $168,000 (direct and indirect costs), the bottom line impact can be staggering.

Uniquely, while the personal and financial impact is clear, a more compelling case may exist regarding patient care. A shortage of nurses in the industry, further aggravated by a high injury incident rate, affects your ability to provide consistent high quality service to patients. In addition, an inadequate patient handling program can lead to Medicare “never events” such as patient falls and skin breakdown during repositioning and transfer.

Fortunately, Atlas offers proven ways to improve employee safety, recruitment, retention, and to reduce injury-related costs. Through our Total Systems Approach, we can address the needs of your entire staff, including office, janitorial, food services, laundry, and material handling. In short, we make sure you hire the right employees and keep them safe and healthy once you do.