Eastern Plumas Health Care reports that a newly implemented incident prevention and management training is aimed at proactively elevating the standard of healthcare in the community and keeping both providers and patients safe from behavioral-related harm.
Like other medical facilities, Eastern Plumas Health Care has seen its share of unpredictable and dangerous behavioral situations when escalated circumstances arise. When that happens, medical care must give way to safe crisis prevention and management of any individual exhibiting behavioral changes. This type of situation is what prompted Joanna Garneau, EPHC program manager, to help find a solution.
“In any given emergency room, providers can attest to how quickly a situation can become escalated when patients or their family members are filled with emotions in circumstances outside their control,” said Garneau.
To better prepare staff for these situations and other incidents that can occur outside the emergency room, Garneau secured a grant to offset training costs, coordinated a program through Quality Behavior Solutions and created a team who attended learning sessions for incident prevention and management training.
Known for their comprehensive programs, QBS has helped healthcare professionals support individuals with behavioral challenges in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, veterans’ homes and outpatient settings across the United States and Canada. For EPHC, QBS specifically created a safety-care core curriculum that was suited for the facility’s needs.
Participants who implement this training report experiencing an 80% reduction in patient injury, 50% reduction in staff injury and overall reduction in restraint and seclusion hours. “The program stats speak for themselves,” said Garneau. “The importance in this training is to help staff provide interventions should a dangerous threat occur.”
More information about this program is available from Garneau at 530-832-6632. More information about EPHC is available at http://www.EPHC.org or by calling 530-832-6500.
Information submitted by Eastern Plumas Health Care
