POLICYHOLDER SPOTLIGHT
A. I. M. Mutual Policyholder Spotlight: Havenwood Heritage Heights Builds A Culture Of Workplace Safety
BY: MICHAEL PALMIERI, PRESIDENT / CEO, HAVENWOOD HERITAGE HEIGHTS
IT STARTS with a safety thought.
Sounds simple, but that’ s what we tell each of our employees as we strive to create and keep a culture of workplace safety here at Havenwood Heritage Heights. And I’ m proud to say that culture has taken hold.
Havenwood Heritage Heights, one of New Hampshire and New England’ s largest continuing-care retirement communities, provides care and services for some 600 residents. We recently celebrated our 50th year in business, a testament to the quality care we provide.
Providing a safe working environment goes hand in hand with quality care. As active partners in our workers’ compensation management program, we take pride in our results to date. We credit our managers and staff of 325 who truly make safety a priority. And we’ ve had expert help: from injury prevention consultants Kim Walker and Patricia Coutu at A. I. M. Mutual; from terrific claim adjusters; and from Phil Cote and the staff at USI Insurance Services.
Building a safety culture takes time.
Here’ s how we got there: Safety As A Mission It’ s not surprising, given the rigorous nature of many jobs in healthcare, that lifting injuries top the list of risks. There is a constant focus and effort to safely— and in the most dignified way— lift and assist residents. There are folks who also lift heavy objects regularly, namely laundry workers or maintenance workers. Lifting is a big part of our healthcare world.
That’ s why safety education is a priority at our organization. Having a solid and realistic safety program is the first step to ensuring that your employees have a great place to work, and residents, a great place to live. These programs often involve employees at all levels of the organization coming together to identify safety hazards and potential best practices to make the work environment better. The“ Aha!” Moments There was never one particular“ aha” moment that renewed our focus on safety as part of our culture. There were several. We became acutely aware of the mechanics of how reimbursement works in this industry as it relates to what the paying customer expects. That made us more conscious of the areas where we could become more efficient and effective when dealing with our budget.
We watched and analyzed the trends emerging in our workers’ compensation
Figure 1- HHH Workers’ Comp Experience Modification Factors( 2001-2017)
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