ABSTRACT
This revised text presents a proactive approach to safety management and leadership. The author places an emphasis on preventing accidents, injuries, and other adverse organizational events. Senior healthcare leaders must learn to promote safety as an organizational value. Safety impacts both the overt and covert cultures of the organization, and the safety culture of healthcare organizations must be recognizable by those served. Healthcare organizations seeking to maintain revenues, minimize losses, serve their communities, and meet regulatory/ accreditation requirements need effective safety programs. The Joint Commission continues to promote safety-related issues and is partnering with the Occupational Safety and Health Commission (OSHA) to increase education and knowledge. OSHA recently added hospitals to the targeted inspection list, which already included nursing homes. Safety issues found in healthcare organizations of today include such areas as patient safety, medication safety, laser hazards, latex allergies, chemical exposures, biological hazards, workplace violence, and community safety issues. The increased emphasis on topics such as emergency management, indoor air quality, and patient safety indicates that safety will remain a key focus of healthcare organizations. Controlling hazards, managing risks, and maintaining proactive safety management programs will continue to challenge senior leadership. Effective healthcare hazard control management continues to be overlooked despite the number of workers employed in healthcare-related occupations. Advances in medical technology and clinical treatment techniques expose workers to a variety of occupational hazards that still must be controlled (see Table 1.1 and Table 1.2).
