ABSTRACT

Dudley Wainright is the risk manager for Skyline Mountain Community Hospital*. Over the past six years, he has noticed an increasing rate of turnover. Furthermore, the employees’ back-injury rate has tripled and the worker’s compensation costs are through the roof. The employees frequently complain about under-staffing and the constant need to hurry. Despite his current ergonomics injury reduction program (EIRP), many employees are out on permanent disability. At any one time, more than 20% of the employees are new to the job, having been hired within the previous three months. Further, the hospital’s insurance carrier is considering dropping the hospital’s coverage due to its high injury rates. The hospital administration has just called Dudley “onto the mat” and told him he’ll be terminated if the injury rate does not drop significantly within two years, when the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) returns to review the hospital’s progress. As with any hospital, Dudley knows that his budget is limited.