Our Greeter today was Stan Drabick, and he did a marvelous job.
President Mike Gschwendtner rang the bell at 7:30 A.M. to open the meeting. Pastor Jean Masiko gave a very nice invocation.
Pres. Mike began the meeting having the members recite the Five-way Test with the fifth question, “Is it Fun?” We recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the U.S.
GUESTS:
Gail Micca, proposed new member.
GIFTS FOR OUR KITCHEN LEADERS:
Pres. Mike presented gift cards to Cassandra and to Shelly from the AW members for their services during the year.
Pres. Mike next showed pictures of the AW group enjoying the Holiday Dinner at Louie’s last Thursday evening. See separate article.
LOWHILL FOOD PANTRY:
Please remember that the Collection jar is at the registration desk for cash and check contributions.
MEMBERSHIP:
Herb Klotz, Membership Chair, pointed out the big hit the club experienced over the last year in headcount. By Dec 31st we were down by Twelve (12) for many reasons. Right now we have 3 new members to be inducted, and a fourth pending.
Herb will form a committee in February to focus on recruiting to add at least 8 more. Volunteers to be on this committee should contact Herb. The first meetings will be Feb 7th A.M. and Feb 8th P.M.
DINING OUT:
Ronnee Klotz noted that we had TWO holiday parties in December, and the next Dining Out will be in February at the Stoney Run Inn. Details will follow.
TEMPTING TASTES 4:
Gary Englehardt announced that the committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Friday January 26th at 7:30 A.M. somewhere TBD.
KINGDOM LIFE VOLUNTEERS:
Jean Masiko needs volunteers to help stock shelves this Friday evening starting at 6:15 P.M.
NEW SNACK PACK BANNER:
Herb Klotz placed on display this morning the newly acquired big banner advertising the AWRC and our Snack Pack program.
SCHEDULE:
President Mike announces upcoming events at our meetings and a list of them appears on our website. A list of the appropriate contact information appears each week in the A-W bulletin.
THURSDAY EVENING MEETING:
Jan 11th at the Holiday Inn starting at 5:30 P.M. Dale Heffner’s daughter will discuss a possible new project.
NEXT WEEK:
Our Greeter will be Chuck Ehninger and the program will be Dr. Jennifer Stinson, Licensed Audiologist giving her Classification Talk.
Pres. Mike introduced our S-a-A Mitch Huston who conducted the raffle drawings. Also he collected some “guilt” payments.
Mitch announced that January 7th is Gwenn Carr’s birthday. And under the excellent leadership of Ralph Witcher’s singing we sang a good rendition of Happy Birthday.
The door prize donated by Stan Drabick was won by Gary Englehardt.
The $106 pot of the 50:50 was not won by Ernie Boll’s ticket. Only THREE marbles remain – and one of them is black.
HAPPY DOLLARS:
Geoff Legg is happy that after a week of looking, he found his car keys and avoided a $200 towing fee.
Jean Masiko is happy to say that today is Joel’s 83rd birthday. He’s not here because it is too darned cold outside this morning.
Dale Heffner is happy to announce a 4th 2017 event with the arrival of their new dog, “Buddy” last Saturday.
Ralph Witcher is happy that Buddy got such a great home.
Wendy Weaver is celebrating the Penn State win in the Fiesta Bowl.
Bill Weber is not real happy about delaying their trip to Hilton Head because there is 5” to 8” of SNOW forecasted starting tomorrow.
Sue Weber is happy to announce that a dozen Friendship Exchange Rotarians from Sweden will be attending the D7430 Conference late April, and will be a program for AWRC on May 2nd.
Joe Goll and Peggy just returned from Lake Tahoe having a great time with the family and skiing.
Al Lewis has a 2002 pickup truck with only 50,000 miles on it, compared to Geoff Legg’s newer Suburban with > 200,000 miles on it. Also Al and Hilda saw the show Sight & Sound and highly recommend it.
Dale Heffner noted that wife Becky helped wrap presents for needy children, and was told that this program was started at Parkland by our own Sue Weber many years ago.
Mitch Huston noted that the Univ. of Mass. Marching Band of 412 members was part of the Rose Parade, and had been in Allentown’s band competition last Summer. The town only has about 10,000 residents.
Wendy Weaver again heard David Phelps sing in concert, and recommends we all see him too.
PROGRAM:
Today we had our own Wendy Weaver discussing Safe Patient Handling & Mobility (SPHM). Wendy began by stating that the Myth “If you use proper biomechanics and lifting techniques when moving patients manually, you can avoid injury.” Is just plain wrong.
Safe Patient Handling and Mobility has become an often-used phrase/watchword in today’s healthcare system. It speaks to all provisions of care.
SPHM is used to identify workers’ comp injuries incurred during the movement of people. In the case of the word “mobility”, it is not just the movement of people required in “personal care” that is discussed, but also that of the rehabilitation treatment process.
On-the-job injuries incurred by caregivers is of grave concern and impacts not just the caregiver, but the patient, the facility, and the community.
Two government agencies have been gathering and working with information regarding injuries in all workforce situations since the 1970s.
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) under the Department of Labor, sets safety standards, conducts inspections and penalizes employers who do not follow the law.
NIOSH, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, under the Department of Health and Human Services, is the research arm and establishes recommended standards.
Unfortunately, the good communication/collaborative work practice between the two is not consistent.
In the late 80’s, another group began a grassroots level of SPHM research and information distribution that would promulgate an ever-increasing interest in preventing on-the-job injury, improving safety practices and improving the quality and availability of assistive devices in healthcare settings.
This effort grew in the VA at the James V. Haley hospital in Tampa, FL. Today’s foremost experts in SPHM remain some that began this research and have taught extensively educating the medical industry, equipment manufacturers and the general public.
In addition, safety researchers in educational institutions and insurance companies have also worked to add data and information to the science and practice of safe patient handling and mobility.
Wendy asks “Did you know?”:
A nurse moves/lifts about 1.8 tons a work day.
Nearly 50% of the workers’ comp injuries are musculoskeletal
A hospital is one of the most hazardous places to work. In 2011, U.S. hospitals recorded 253,700 work-related injuries and illnesses, a rate of 6.8 work-related injuries and illnesses for every 100 full-time employees. This is almost twice the rate for private industry as a whole. Wendy showed a bar chart noting that Healthcare is not a safe industry for its workforce.
Wendy explained that “MSDs” are:
Musculoskeletal Injuries and Illnesses affect muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, joints or spine. MSDs can occur at once or over time. Many are small injuries that accumulate into permanent major impairments.
They occur due to work duties that entail:
Repetition
Forceful Exertions
Awkward Postures
Contact Stress
Vibration
Activities requiring SPHM ASSISTS are:
Toileting
Bathing or washing
Personal care
Transport in facility
Special treatment
Specific treatment
Rehabilitation
Extended mobility outside facility
The financial consequences are:
Consequences begin with:
Chronic pain and disability of the injured party
Absenteeism
Increased medical expenses
Disability compensation
Litigation
It is estimated that 20% of nurses leave direct patient care because risks associated with work.
What can and is being done:
Adequate Equipment availability and utilization
SPHM Program development, installation and maintenance
ANA Standards
CMS involvement
ASPHP Certifications
Universal, consistent data collection
Legislation
Wendy then reviewed the following:
ADEQUATE AND APPROPRIATE EQUIPMENT
Costs of WC injury vs equipment
SPHM program development
ASPHN: elements of a successful SPHM program
DATA Collection and distribution
Legislation – State and Federal
CLOSING:
We closed the meeting by reciting the saying “One profits most who serves best.”
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