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Most people are familiar with worker’s comp, whether it be simply reading or hearing about it when applying for a job, or actually needing it after an on-the-job injury. The Georgia Hospital Association Worker’s Compensation Self-Insurance Fund (GHAWCSIF) presents annual awards to hospitals that have certain degree of worker safety, and recently awarded their Platinum Safety Award to Memorial Hospital and Manor “in recognition of their superior accident experience in calendar year 2021.”

Keenan Jenkins, Memorial Hospital’s safety compliance officer, explained the award and what it means to the Post-Searchlight. “It awards those organizations that have the lowest loss ratio,” he said. “We have a workers comp fund. We are considered a large group because ours is $150,000 or more… so because we had a low amount of injuries that resulted in a low pay-out, our ratio of what we dished out as opposed to what we put in, was between zero and 10%.”

He continued, discussing the hospital’s efforts to minimize on-site injuries. “We do what we need to do to help minimize the amount of work-related injuries our staff receive. We do that by offering training, education, we do different types of roundings to identify any type of potential hazards, and just try our best to minimize and eliminate those as much as possible.” According to Jenkins, the more common on-site injuries reported at hospitals are pulled and strained backs, usually from improperly lifting patients without assistance, as well as slips and falls.

To Jenkins’ knowledge, this is the first time Memorial has received the award. “The worker’s comp carrier, they structured it differently this year,” he explained. “If I’m not mistaken, previously they did award certain items, such as, ‘Hey we’re gonna give you a free mechanical lift.’ But when they were doing their rounds, when they come to the facilities, they see that these things that they were giving these hospitals were just stacked up in the room and not being used.”

In an official press release, GHAWCSIF stated, “Memorial Hospital and Manor did an excellent job of achieving low accident frequency and severity. Claims were handled in a timely and efficient manner. We congratulate you and all the staff members on your excellent results. We’re very proud of their achievement.”

“I believe Memorial Hospital and Manor is on the forefront, and has been very proactive with making sure they provide high-quality care, as well as a safe environment for all,” Jenkins concluded, “whether it’s patients, visitors or family members, contracted vendors, and most importantly their staff.”