Looking beyond staff to create a safe facility

'Prevention through design' can lead to safer healthcare facilities


In Thompson's Health Care Expert's special report, "Patients, Visitors Benefit When Safety Professionals Move Past the ‘Administrative Controls'," healthcare safety professionals are urged to look beyond worker-focused efforts — such as worker training and protective equipment — to design solutions that create a safer environment for everyone, including patients and visitors.

"We expect workers to be infallible and not get hurt because we wrote a procedure or held a training class, but we hardly ever look to better design to reduce risk," said Michael Behm, an associate professor in the occupational safety program at East Carolina University.

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April 16, 2014


Topic Area: Safety


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