Regardless of the frequency of your safety meetings, there are certain topics that you will want to cover with your assisted living employees to ensure that they are well-versed on facility policies relating to safe practices, handling potential hazards, and any changes or modifications to standards of operation that may impact how they perform their jobs. Safety meetings can also be used as a sounding board for employee contributions to improvements in your facility’s safety procedures, or as motivational tools to increase the interest and participation of your employees in facility operations.
The person responsible for conducting the meeting should be prepared with a guideline for the topics to be covered in the meeting, and the meeting should start on time and be as succinct as possible in delivering information to and receiving it from your assisted living employees. Attendance should be taken and recorded, as it may be required in some states for insurance or liability purposes.
- When conducting the safety meeting, you should cover the following topics:
- Number of incidents or injuries since the last meeting
- How those incidents/injuries could have been prevented or their impact minimized
- The responsibility of all employees to be aware of their surroundings and take note of and employ measures to correct and potential hazards or safety issues on the property
- The chain of command when reporting serious safety hazards that require additional attention
- The results of any on-site or internally conducted safety inspections and areas that need improvement
After allowing open discussion of all pertinent topics, you should then inform your assisted living employees of the date for the next safety meeting and address any goals or standards that should be met and maintained between the current meeting and the next. This could include maintaining an accident-free record or reducing the amount of time lost due to work-related incidents or injuries.
The safety and security of the residents in your facility is one of your top priorities, and by conducting regular safety meetings, you will be able to convey the importance of this to your employees and engage their participation in making your facility a safe, accident-free location for residents and employees alike.
