Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital enhances staff safety
Staff injuries resulting from patient behavioral events have a significant impact on the workforce, often resulting in physical and emotional damage, time away from work, decreased employee satisfaction and rapid staff burnout. In 2018, Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital began an initiative to reduce staff injuries and their repercussions.
Upstate GCH was averaging a reported 20 injuries per year before the initiative began. Using the Plan-Do-Study-Act quality improvement methodology, Upstate GCH’s dedicated team of stakeholders implemented multiple interventions, including a violence assessment tool, behavioral intervention plan, personal protective equipment carts and a behavioral escalation response team.
Since 2018, their teamwork has decreased overall staff injuries by more than 60% and they have sustained zero DART (days away, restricted, transferred) staff injuries for more than 17 months. In addition, overall registered nurse satisfaction has increased.
For more information, contact Michelle Jeski, MSN, RN, CPN, PCNS-BC, clinical nurse specialist, at jeskim@upstate.edu or 314.464.1480.
