Herr honored with safety leadership award

The Washington Hospitals Workers’ Compensation Trust has selected East Adams Rural Hospital (EARH) Chief Nursing Officer, Brenda Herr, as the recipient of the 2012 Outstanding Safety Leadership award. CEO/CFO Gary Bostrom is presenting the award to Herr during the regular board meeting on Thursday, Oct. 25.

Bostrom represented EARH and received Herr’s award during the Washington State Hospital Association meeting last week.

The workers compensation staff members that work with Herr and other staff members at EARH chose the individual they believe best represents an outstanding employee safety leader. The criteria for selecting the safety leaders include demonstrating leadership in a safety project, setting and achieving goals for employee safety, and working directly with employee health or safety.

The contest period stretches from September 2011 through August 2012, and all appropriate criteria measures must be completed within the timeframe. Herr recently became the full time safety leader for the hospital and completed necessary reports with assistance from outgoing leader, Bruce Garner.

Herr has been a nurse in the state for 28 years and is honored to be the recipient of the award. Herr said to qualify for the award and for the hospital to be in compliance, she has to complete the Annual Accident Prevention Program Review as well as the Safe Patient Handling Program Annual Review.

Herr also participates and conducts the CEO Walk-Around, which helps gain information on employees’ safety knowledge and allows EARH an opportunity to receive additional funds. Herr explained the walk around consists of asking each employee a series of questions regarding safety, and if each employee answers correctly, the hospital earns points.

“We’ve made a big improvement in the last few years,” Herr explained. “In the CEO Walk-Around, we ask each employee to name two hazards in their area and how they are controlled. If they answer correctly, we receive full points.”

During this year’s walk around, Herr explained, the staff scored 93 out of 96 total points.

It is this improvement that helped Herr become eligible for the safety leader award. Herr also explained that over the past year, there have not been any workman comp injuries reported in the hospital.

As a safety officer, Herr works with the human resources department to ensure all of the proper and necessary safety policies are in place. Herr is also required to provide training with patient safe handling, and work with employees on fall prevention and restraint training.

Herr said she conducts monthly meetings to discuss issues, such as falls, injuries, equipment failure, and recalls on any equipment. Also on a monthly basis, Herr conducts walk around assessments for each individual department within the hospital.

Other responsibilities for Herr as the safety officer for the hospital include completing quarterly reports, updating the disaster preparedness and perfecting the root cause analysis method.

For Herr, the honor of being the outstanding safety officer is more than a reflection on her personal accomplishments, but also a positive indication of the progress of the hospital. Herr hopes to continue to grow in her position as a safety officer and as chief nursing officer to create a healthy and safe working environment for all hospital employees.

“I’m really happy about this award, I thought it was really nice. And Gary (Bostrom) is really excited, for me, and for the hospital,” Herr said.