Risk Profile Improvement
Seven U.S. anesthesiologists have reported that drug shortages resulted in deaths of their patients, according to a new survey from the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Are these deaths the canary in the mine?
via ABC News Exclusive: Anesthesia Drug Shortages – ABC News.
Health Benefits of Exercise and Physical Activity:
Our bodies are designed to move. We need to build exercise into our busy schedules to stay healthy.
Move More – Eat Less – Don’t Smoke
In the workplace, mental health problems manifest in a number of ways. Here are some employee behaviors that may be signs of a mental health problem:
These symptoms could also result when an employee has a family member suffering from a mental health problem or other serious health issue. Such situations can sometimes disrupt the employee’s working hours, lead to absences, affect concentration and decrease morale as much as it would if the employee had the mental health problem.
via Mental Health America: What to Do When You Think an Employee May Need Mental Health Help.
Total Worker Health™ is a strategy integrating occupational safety and health protection with health promotion to prevent worker injury and illness and to advance health and well-being.
The protection, preservation, and improvement of the health and well-being of all people who work are goals shared by workers, their families, and employers. Today, more than ever, there is increasing evidence that the work environment and the overall health, safety and well-being of the workers within it are strongly connected. Diminished health and injury, whether caused by work or resulting from non-work activities, reduces quality of life, opportunity, and income for workers and those dependent upon them. Conversely, workplaces with low risk of injury and enhanced opportunities for the total health of workers can lead to a vibrant, engaged and highly performing workforce.
via CDC – Total Worker Health What Is Total Worker Health? – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Program.
Since its inception in 1979, The Skin Cancer Foundation has always recommended using a sunscreen with an SPF 15 or higher as one important part of a complete sun protection regimen. Sunscreen alone is not enough, however. Read our full list of skin cancer prevention tips.
Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Good nutrition, physical activity, and a healthy body weight are essential parts of a person’s overall health and well-being. Together, these can help decrease a person’s risk of developing serious health conditions, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. A healthful diet, regular physical activity, and achieving and maintaining a healthy weight also are paramount to managing health conditions so they do not worsen over time.
via Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Leading Health Indicators – Healthy People 2020.
Back problems: Proper lifting No one is immune to back injury.
Whether you have a strong back or have hurt your back before, it is well worth it to:
The time you take to use the right lifting mechanics is far less than the days, weeks, or months it can take to heal from a back injury.
In 1895, Joseph Malins wrote a poem entitled “Ambulance Down in the Valley”, and the following is an excerpt from his poetic case for prevention:
Better guide well the young than reclaim them when old,
For the voice of true wisdom is calling.
“To rescue the fallen is good, but ’tis best
To prevent other people from falling.”
Better close up the source of temptation and crime
Than deliver from dungeon or galley;
Better put a strong fence ’round the top of the cliff
Than an ambulance down in the valley.
Our current medical system is very much like that “ambulance down in the valley”. The current onslaught of people suffering from chronic disease, illnesses and injuries is disturbing. However, even more disheartening is that many, if not most, of those medical conditions could be avoided or significantly delayed – if only those people could turn back the hands of time and alter the millions of small but significant daily choices that led to those unintended consequences. The harsh reality is that largely, how we live dictates how we die. We would be better served to consider the full value of health rather than the inexorable cost of dying. Let’s continue to build a strong fence ’round the top of the cliff.
Injury: The Leading Cause of Death Among Persons 1-44In 2007 in the United States, injuries, including all causes of unintentional and violence-related injuries combined, accounted for 51% of all deaths among persons ages 1-44 years of age – that is more deaths than non-communicable diseases and infectious diseases combined.Injury Deaths Compared to Other Leading Causes of Death for Persons Ages 1-44, United States, 2007Injury FactsMore than 180,000 deaths from injury each year — 1 person every 3 minutes. Leading cause of death for people ages 1-44 in the US. More than 2.8 million people hospitalized with injury each year. More than 29 million people treated in Emergency Department for injury each year. More than $406 billion annually in medical costs and lost productivity.
via CDC – Injury: The Leading Cause of Death for Persons 1-44 in U.S. – Injury Center.
Not all Employers are the same and neither are the results of their risk management efforts. High performing companies follow these 5 key strategies.
Disability can be managed and those who do it well can expect to be rewarded with lower disability costs, more satisfied workers, higher productivity and, ultimately, higher profits.