With an aim of reducing injuries, Texas Children’s has partnered with Children’s Hospitals’ Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS) to empower leaders and support team members with improved workforce safety measures and zero harm to staff. Ours is one of 12 SPS hospitals participating in the Pioneer Overexertion Cohort, a group of children’s hospitals analyzing employee injuries caused when team members overexert themselves carrying out work duties.
Texas Children’s Hospital Cohort members have been working with the Legacy Tower Environmental Services (EVS) Team and the Medical Center Transport Team to provide leaders and staffers with strategies for injury reduction. Interventions have included:
- Employee stretching sessions targeting common injury areas like the back, arms and shoulders
- New linen carts, mothership carts and casters for trash cans
- Moving sharps containers to locations requiring medical staff to bend less during disposal
- Printed materials, such as overexertion event stories with safety tips and flyers reviewing stretching techniques.
Through live demonstrations, visual aids, equipment changes and more, leaders have taken charge of building up our strong culture of care, and team members have gained valuable new skills.
The foundation laid with Legacy Tower EVS and Medical Center Transport serves as inspiration for teams throughout our hospital system. Texas Children’s is well on our way to making zero employee harm a reality!
