Good Day Colleagues,

I knock on wood as I write this as we have minimal injuries in our facilities. However, I am noticing a trend in our outpatient clinics that offer rehab services. In the last three years the vast majority of injuries to our employees that work in the outpatient setting arise from autistic patients while in therapy—OT, PT, and Speech. We see bites, bruises due to throwing of objects, and scratches. In some cases the bites have broken the skin creating a true exposure situation. It’s hard for me to accept that this is “just the way it is—these things happen.”

For those of you that serve these types of patients, what successful strategies have you deployed to minimize the risk of injury to employees? We do an intake. I would be interested in others that do an intake and determine what questions you ask. Perhaps we are missing something. Do you require employees in these areas to wear long sleeves? This would protect from scratches and make it more difficult to break skin with a bite? What else are you doing in this area?

Thanks!

Amy Olson, BSN, MS, COHN-S
Director, Employee Health and Wellness
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital
500 Seventh Avenue South, Suite 103
St. Petersburg, FL  33701
P 727-767-8211 | F 727-767-8399
aolson9@jhmi.edu
www.HopkinsAllChildrens.org