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CCAP Loss Safety
ESSENTIALS
Control
Newsletter is
Compliments of
PELICAN
Insurance For Nursing Facilities
VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 MARCH 2007
AVOID SLIPS TRIPS AND FALLS
A fall at work can put you out shoes with a low heel. Keep • Stay alert. Your
of commission. Weeks in pain, laces tied to prevent tripping. chances for a tripping accident
months in a cast or years in a • Maintain adequate or any accident are greater
wheelchair can be the result of lighting in the areas where you if you are tired or distracted.
a simple slip, trip or fall. Falls walk. Hallways, stairways, and
are among the leading causes outside areas should be bright Falls are a leading cause of
Pennsylvania Liability of death in the workplace. enough to see where you are going. workplace injury and death. They
Insurance for County
Even a fall from the same level • Keep your hands free also cause a great deal of suffer-
Affiliated Nursing Homes
instead of a fall from a height can when you walk, to help you catch ing. Take fall hazards seriously,
A Reciprocal Risk cause a fatal or crippling injury. your balance if you start and do not let them trip you up.
Retention Group to fall. Do not
providing Liability and walk with your hands TEST YOU KNOWLEDGE QUIZ
Professional Liability in your pockets.
Insurance • If you do carry 1. Unless you drop from
something be sure a height of 10 feet or more,
Sponsored by you can see over
Pennsylvania Association
there is little chance of
of County Affiliated being seriously hurt in a fall.
Homes (PACAH) True False
A Program of the 2. Stumbling over an
County Commissioners obstacle is know as:
Association of a. Slipping b. Tripping
Pennsylvania (CCAP)
3. When your feet go
out from under you
IN THIS ISSUE because of lack of friction
it or between your shoes and
One of the major causes around it. the walking surface you have:
of falls is tripping over an • Do not leave equipment, a. Skipped b. Slipped
Avoid Slips,Trips and obstacle. The other major cause is tools or materials on the floor.
Falls - 1 slipping. Here are some • Do not allow 4. Style is the best reason
suggestions to prevent tripping and cords, cables or wires to to choose footwear for the job.
Superbugs Endanger slipping accidents in your facility. create trip hazards. Tie them True False
Workers - 2 up and get them out of the way.
• Slow down. Many • Always close 5. You should make sure you
falls occur when an drawers, even if they are in can see over or around an object
Seven Ways to use employee walks too fast an area where you would not you are carrying to prevent falls.
Posters Effectively - 3 through the facility. Do not run. expect someone to trip over them. True False
• Watch where you are • Do not place
PELICAN Insurance going. Do not assume a items on stairs or in
walkway inside or outside the stairwells, even for just a moment.
Renewal Update - 3 facility is clear. Watch for • Watch for hazards
clutter on the floor and such as loose floor tile, loose
Word Search - 4 also watch for unexpected carpeting and broken stair
changes in the walkway surface surfaces. Report these defects
levels, such as a step up or down. immediately so they
• Wear well fitting can be repaired.
PELICAN -A Reciprocal Risk Retention Group providing Liability and Professional Liability Insurance
SUPERBUGS ENDANGER WORKERS
bacteria are left to grow and multiply. In some cases, transmission-based
Any workplace has its special precautions are required. They come into
hazards. In healthcare, superbugs effect when disease may be spread by
Antibiotic Overuse
are among the dangers for droplets, airborne mechanisms or contact
There is growing concern among healthcare
workers. Superbugs are any of with dry skin or contaminated surfaces.
professionals that the overuse of
a number of bacteria that have Transmission-based precautions are used to
antibiotics is leading to the development of
become resistant to antibiotics. protect against such diseases as chicken pox,
more superbugs. This situation may be the
result of using antibiotics unnecessarily to flu or herpes simplex. Transmission-based
treat illnesses that may not require them precautions are used in addition to, not in
or from the repeated use of a few drugs to place of, Standard Precautions.
Superbug Examples treat the same bacteria.
More Information on Superbug Hazards is
The bacteria that are not reactive to the Available at These Links:
antibiotics are then selected for survival and • http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/
for possible transmission to other people. hospital/hazards/univprec/univ.html#1
Infections that were once easily and cheaply • http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/
treated may now become untreatable or hospital/hazards/mro/mro.html
expensive to manage. • http://www.fda.gov/fdac/fea-
tures/1998/698_bugs.html
• http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/
?ar_mrsa_spotlight_2006.html
Standard Precautions
Some of the more commonly
recognized antibiotic-resistant
bacteria include
Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA),
Vancomycin-resistant enterococci
(VRE), Penicillin-resistant
Streptococcus pneumoniae
(PRSPs) and multi-drug-resistant
Tuberculosis (MDR) TB.
These organisms often are Healthcare staff needs to take action to
resistant to more than one of protect themselves from infection with
the antibiotics commonly used these superbugs. The Centers for Disease
to treat these infections. These and Control and Prevention (CDC)
organisms may infect healthcare recommends that staff protect themselves
staff that may transmit them from by using Standard Precautions in cases
one resident to another or to involving blood, body fluids, excretions and
persons outside of the facility secretions, except for sweat. Standard
such as family and friends. precautions include the use of hand washing
and personal protective equipment such as
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria gloves, gowns and masks whenever
may result when an infection is touching or exposure to residents’ body
treated with an antibiotic that fluids is anticipated.
kills susceptible bacteria but
leaves behind bacteria that do Transmission Precautions
not respond. These resistant
Page 2
Sponsored by Pennsylvania Association of County Affiliated
SEVEN WAYS TO USE POSTERS EFFECTIVELY
Posters can be an important part of any 3. Display one at a time PELICAN INSURANCE PROGRAM 2007 RENEWAL
safety program. They serve as advertisements, UPDATE AND NOTICE OF PELICAN FOURTH
Display one poster per location at one time. ANNUAL SUBSCRIBER’S MEETING
reminders, warnings and sometimes even as There are exceptions depending on the
laugh getters because a little humor never location and the particular display. Do not PELICAN Insurance is a CCAP insurance program
hurts and often helps one remember. mass your posters because the attention is sponsored by PACAH which began writing business
effective March 1, 2003. The PELICAN Insurance
higher and readability is better if the number program runs from March 1 to March 1.
of posters in one display is kept small.
As of renewal, March 1, 2007, PELICAN has 31
members. Total PELICAN premium as of March 1,
2007 is approximately $3.6M (excluding MCare; $4.2M
including the MCare Assessment).
This year there are two pieces of good news regarding
PELICAN’s liability insurance program. First,
PELICAN’s rates for 2007-2008 are remaining the
same per occupied bed as in 2006-2007! We are
pleased that claims experience has allowed us to keep
rates flat. Second, MCare has announced the
extension to 2007 of their MCARE assessment
abatement program which could save nursing homes
up to 50% on their 2007 MCare assessment.
PELICAN members need to go to MCARE’s website
to make application for the refund (http://www.mcare.
state.pa.us/mclf/site/default.asp).
Also, PELICAN will hold its fourth annual PELICAN
Insurance Subscriber’s Meeting, Wednesday, May 2,
2007, at the Ramada in State College, PA. The meeting
Posters cover many safety subjects and many is open to PELICAN Insurance subscribers, and their
hazards, and they utilize many art and producers, and will take place during the PACAH
Spring Conference. The meeting will begin with a
printing techniques. Selected carefully and buffet luncheon followed by a short business meeting.
used discriminately, posters can help staff On the meeting agenda this year is the election to fill
avoid hazards and unsafe acts and can help 4. Setting and lighting three positions on the PELICAN Subscriber’s Advisory
you have a more effective safety program. Light your poster display well. Frame your Committee (SAC) whose terms expire in 2007. The
posters. Do not use posters that are SAC is the Board of Directors responsible for the
operation of PELICAN Insurance program. There is
Here are some suggestions to help you get dog-eared or dirty. no charge to attend this meeting, but pre-registration
the most out of safety posters: is requested for planning purposes. Please look for
5. Appropriateness the meeting notice mailing in March.
1. Change them often Use posters that pertain to the location at The PELICAN liability insurance program provides
You do not have to discard posters when you which they are displayed. primary nursing home professional liability and general
change a display. Simply use the posters at liability insurance on a claims-made basis. PELICAN
Insurance is a Vermont domiciled Reciprocal Risk
another appropriate location. 6. Permanence Retention Group (RRG) formed under federal law and
Some objects and some posters are so basic is owned by the participating nursing facilities.
2. Locate with care that you should construct a permanent
display around them. For example, certain Administration, claims and loss control services are
Put your poster up in either poster frames or provided by CCAP. Producer and consulting services
on bulletin boards at strategic places such as: fire protection, first aid and rescue posters are provided by Willis Pooling and Willis Management
• Where staff pass are important enough to warrant permanent (Vermont) Ltd. The individual facilities must choose
• Where staff lingers display in some locations. These posters can their own insurance producer.
• Where staff stop and read be mounted, laminated or placed in a glass
PELICAN membership is open to current PACAH
• Near vending machines front poster box. Full Voting Member and Associate Member non-profit
• Smoking stations nursing homes. This program is not open to for-profit
• Staff lounges 7. Special notices and facilities.
• Cafeteria “homemade” posters If you would like any additional information regarding
• Conference or meeting rooms Also use you poster locations for news the PELICAN Insurance program, or the PELICAN
• Near time clocks bulletins, press clippings, safety alerts, Annual Subscriber’s Meeting, please contact Steve
• Outside supervisors’ offices homemade posters and signs. Side from the McDermott, Captive Programs Director, CCAP
Insurance Programs, telephone 800-895-9039, email
value such communications may have smcdermott@pacounties.org.
themselves; they also draw staff to your
poster locations. Condition your staff to
check these spots for interesting, timely and
entertaining material.
The words listed here are found in the articles in
T R U S W M I B R E W Y S H U S Q B O E this issue of Safety Essentials. Look for them in the
R F E G L Q U E G S P N O A T O Q E Y V word search puzzle.
I F G S R I C I R V O W R Z H W Y X K I
P A V J I U P E M I X Q G A Q R W G Y T BACTERIA ORGANISMS
P T M B D S T P T E C N A R U S N I L P BALANCE POSTERS
I S G O A S T C I F R L N D H I V G P A CAPTIVE PREMIUM
N D R F O L E A H N I P I S X J I S I C CLUTTER PRODUCER
G P P P Z F A W N G G M S M R O B A T R DISPLAY RENEWAL
A M L L N X P N H T X W M P E P Q W L O HAZARDS RESISTANT
B E F I Q A R T C W A Z S N S I L S U R INFECTIONS SAFETY
V L O C A T I O N E P A O V B I U D M V INSURANCE SLIPPING
V F Y L D N G R C D I S P L A Y L I S A LIABILITY STAFF
R I W K G F Y L E V E D G B J Y X K Q W LIGHTING SUPERBUGS
F I R H M B U T L T Q V I L A W E N E R LOCATION TRIPPING
F O O L J T K O E G C L E F A S N U U V MULTIPLY UNSAFE
O U Y G T W J A W F I A L J W F J A U V
Answers to Test Your Knowledge Quiz from Page 1
S U P E R B U G S T A L B G F L D T B B
Z L R Q P U C S Y P N S F V F C E V P U 1. False
R W I N G G C O G Z X P B D E W G V J P 2. b.
M H R R G D D U Z Y R J Q D Z E D Z Y D 3. b.
4. False
5. True
CCAP Loss Control Services
P.O. Box 60769
Harrisburg, PA 17106-0769
Newsletter Contact - Gary Nicholson, CHSP
Phone: (800) 895-9039
Fax: (717) 526-1020
Email: gnicholson@pacounties.org
Fax: 717-526-1020
Email: gnicholson@pacounties.org
Pennsylvania Liability Insurance for County Affiliated Nursing Homes
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