How to Combat Slip-and-Fall Risks at Your Healthcare Business

Slip-and-Falls in Healthcare Industry

If you’re a business owner in the healthcare industry, you know your employees perform valuable work every day! From attending to injured patients to administering medications and conducting medical tests, workers in the healthcare industry offer assistance and care to people in need. However, this means your workers might spend many hours on their feet every day, which puts them at a high risk of slip-and-fall accidents.

For healthcare industry employees, some common slip-and-fall risks include:

• Wet and slippery surfaces: Hospitals, doctor’s offices, and other healthcare settings often require frequent cleaning to protect both patients and workers. However, if recently cleaned floors are not properly marked, wet and slippery floors can lead to slip-and-fall accidents.

• Uneven surfaces: Some areas might have uneven surfaces, like damaged flooring or transitions between different floors. If these areas are not properly maintained or marked, they increase the risk of slip-and-falls for healthcare industry workers.

• Clutter: While healthcare settings are often clean, workers might still encounter clutter or other debris, like equipment or wires on the floor. If items are not properly stored, they can cause slip-and-falls.

• Poor lighting: In areas like stairwells and hallways, workers might encounter inadequate lighting. If they can’t see hazards like clutter or wet floor signs, they might experience a preventable slip-and-fall accident.

• Helping patients: In their role as a healthcare worker, many employees might assist patients with tasks like walking or getting out of bed. If proper techniques are not used, slip-and-fall accidents can occur, injuring both patients and workers.

Preventing Slip-and-Falls at Your Healthcare Business

Luckily, there are plenty of steps you can take to protect your healthcare industry employees from common slip-and-fall risks like these.

1. Use proper signage to alert workers to hazards like wet floors or uneven surfaces
2. If you notice a damaged area, take quick steps to address it
3. Make sure your employees use the correct footwear, like shoes with slip-resistant soles
4. Encourage a workplace culture of safety and make sure employees are trained on tasks like proper lifting techniques and safely storing equipment
5. Ensure all areas are well-lit, including hallways, stairwells, and patient rooms
6. Conduct regular risk management assessments to look out for common slip-and-fall hazards

How WCBIS Can Help

At Work Comp Business Insurance Solutions, we know the unique risks and nuances of the healthcare industry. We offer a suite of products tailored to helping business owners reduce common risks like slip-and-falls, including risk management services to help you identify, mitigate, and prevent slip-and-fall risks and other hazards around your healthcare industry business.

If you struggle with finding Workers’ Compensation coverage due to a high risk of injuries, we also offer Workers’ Compensation assistance. Drawing on our wide network of carriers and connections, we’ll work to find you comprehensive coverage that fits your unique needs and budget.

At Work Comp Business Insurance Solutions, we help business owners find the best Workers’ Compensation and payroll solutions.To learn more about our services and how we can help your business, visit us online at https://www.wcbis.com.