Happy Holidays!
First off Welcome to our new members! I was searching the MIOSHA website for something the other day and wondered how many of you are familiar with the wealth of information that is out there. I actually used all three of the MIOSHA Initiative subjects in my 2007 training. Tree trimming, Young Workers, and Fall Protection are all high risk functions.
Between 2003 and 2007 I had several tree trimming Workers Compensation claims. All three required a trip to the Occupational Health clinic. Fortunately, only one was serious enough to result in lost time.
About 30 percent of my summer seasonal injuries occur to the 18-21 year old seasonal workers. For many this is their first strenuous job. They are not use to manual labor and they think they are invincible! Even though I personally train every seasonal worker in safety, I cannot train experience. Inevitably, there are injuries.
A fall from any height can result in a grave injury. Within the last two weeks a construction worker at our Water Treatment plant fell from scaffolding 20 feet in the air. He broke almost all of his ribs, severely injured his shoulder, and smashed his face...ramming a tooth up into his gums. He was in the hospital a week. There were problems with his fall protection system.
The MIOSHA Initiatives section has all the resources you need to train your employees. Don’t recreate the wheel-use the resources that are available!
-Heather Kubiak
AED’s
WM-ASSE donated a Medtronic AED to Frederick Meijer Gardens during our Christmas Dinner/Program a couple of years ago. Last Tuesday, I met a retired nurse at a function. She is a volunteer at the Food Pantry and also a volunteer at FMG. She shared with me that a fellow volunteer, at the Gardens, two weeks
ago suffered SCA. With an AED on site, the staff was able to administer this life saving device until EMS arrived on scene. She later was treated at a local
hospital and the victim has regained full recovery. It's important to note that this AED was instrumental in the "earlychain-of-survival" steps.
Richard A. DeLeau
Environmental Affairs & Safety
Herman Miller
